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The Rugby Championship 2015
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All Blacks debutant Waisake Naholo offloads as he is tackled by Argentina’s Tomas Cubelli during their Rugby Championship clash on Friday. Naholo cracked a bone in his leg during the second half and has been ruled out of playing in this year’s World Cup. Photo: AFP
SportRugby

Waisake Naholo out of World Cup after breaking leg in debut for All Blacks

All Blacks winger Waisake Naholo suffered a broken leg during his test debut against Argentina on Friday and has been ruled out of contention for this year’s Rugby World Cup.

The Rugby Championship 2015
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All Blacks winger Waisake Naholo suffered a broken leg during his test debut against Argentina on Friday and has been ruled out of contention for this year’s Rugby World Cup.

Fiji-born Naholo, who scored 13 tries for the Dunedin-based Highlanders during the Super Rugby season, made a strong debut before leaving the field midway through the second half of the Rugby Championship test with what was thought to be a sprained ankle.

He was omitted on Saturday from the All Blacks’ 31-man squad for the championship match against the Springboks in Johannesburg next weekend.

X-rays revealed Naholo had suffered a cracked fibia and he will not have recovered in time to play at the World Cup which starts in Britain in September.
Waisake Naholo is tackled by Argentina's Facundo Isa during the match in Christchurch. Photo: Reuters
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said Naholo would likely be sidelined for three months and there was faint chance he could join the New Zealand team in the late stages of the World Cup if another player was injured.

“It’s pretty disappointing for him and for us,” Hansen said. “We’re all a bit shocked by it because he was weight-bearing on it and he looked pretty good.

“But he got back here last night and it got really sore so Doc thought he better get it scanned and in the scan there’s a very fine crack in it. It means three months (out).”

Hansen said he had been pleased with Naholo’s test debut.

“He impressed us and although he made a couple of small errors, the good things he did were very, very good,” he said. “He will blossom into a very good All Black.”

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