All Black flanker Anton Segner’s tour of South Africa is over and he will return home after the Cape Town test.
The first German-born All Black had a sensational start to the tour, starring in the opening match and earning himself the man of the match award against the Bulls, but was forced to withdraw before the first test on Saturday, which the All Blacks beat the Springboks 33-16, with a swollen ankle.
“Segner has undergone minor surgery to wash out an infection in his ankle joint and will return home to continue his recovery. Head Coach Dave Rennie confirmed an injury replacement would not be called into the squad at this stage,” an All Blacks statement said.
Segner is the fifth All Black ruled out, joining hooker George Bell, midfielder Billy Proctor, winger Caleb Clarke and prop Ollie Norris as attention shifts to the remaining three tests.
Segner made his test debut against Italy on 11 July and was touted for a big role in the series against the Boks.
“He had keyhole surgery just to wash out an infection, so he’ll come with us to Cape Town but he won’t take part in the rest of the tour,” Rennie told reporters post-match.
“Our feeling is that now we’re beyond the midweek games, we’ve got enough loose forwards to pick from.”
Rennie also explained the decision to rule prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi out before kick-off after he fell ill.
“We were hoping Ofa would mean we didn’t have to use Xavier [Numia] today, but unfortunately he’s running a fever and we felt it wouldn’t be wise to try and play him.”
With no more franchise games left, and only the tests to play, Rennie believes he has enough players to choose from.
“We have a fair number of fresh bodies heading into the weekend, with four or five of the guys who played tonight potentially backing up or starting.
“Once we get to test three and test four, you’ve got a full week of preparation and plenty of numbers, so it’s just the nature of the game,” the Kiwi boss concluded.
One of the locks who played in the 41-35 win over the Lions will have to front up on the bench again this weekend as that is the one area the All Blacks may be a bit low on player stocks.
The All Blacks and Springboks move to Cape Town on Wednesday in anticipation of Saturday’s second test.