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.
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.
“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.”