All Black coach Steve Hansen at Auckland Airport today.
All Black coach Steve Hansen confirmed today that two members of the squad will not be travelling to the Bledisloe Cup match in Perth next Saturday.
Flanker Luke Jacobson and first-five Josh Ioane will both miss next weekend’s game. Both have suffered concussions in training this week, and for Jacobson it’s another to add to a growing list of head knocks.
The Chiefs flanker has already missed five weeks of this season with concussion, so it’s highly likely his recovery will be treated with the utmost care. Meanwhile, it was unlikely that Ioane would have played a role in the game anyway, yet his withdrawal will mean there is even less opportunity to integrate him into the team’s systems before the World Cup.
There was some other sad news, as Vaea Fifita’s brother passed away earlier in the week. Fifita will still travel with the team to Perth.
Hansen also said he was impressed with the way the Wallabies had been playing so far this year, despite them losing to the Springboks and grinding out a low scoring win over the Pumas last weekend in Brisbane.
The first Bledisloe Cup test of the year will be the first time the Wallabies and All Blacks have met in Perth, with the game to be played at the new Optus Stadium. There is expected to be a near-capacity crowd of around 60,000 in attendance.