Just when it looked as if the All Blacks' Bledisloe buildup could hardly have gone better, coach Ian Foster trotted across the Sky Stadium turf and hopped the fence.
A gaggle of microphones and cameras greeted him, expectantly, and Foster delivered a decent shock.
"Beaudy is out, and Damian's in at 15," the coach deadpanned, just over 24 hours out from the first test against the Wallabies in Wellington.
Named at fullback on Friday, Beauden Barrett suffered a tight achilles tendon at training and was ruled out on Saturday, with Damian McKenzie slotting straight into the No 15 jersey after missing the original 23 for the first test of 2020.
For the elusive Waikato and Chiefs fullback, it will be his first test since November 2018 when he started the 66-3 win over Italy in Rome, with Jordie Barrett on the right wing as he will be on Sunday (4pm kickoff).
"He's a quality 15 and ready to go, and it means less disruption to the rest of the squad. All the other positions stay the same," said Foster.
The All Blacks lose a hugely influential figure, with Barrett a former world player of the year, but McKenzie poses an equal attacking threat for the Wallabies if given space.
With the second Bledisloe in Auckland next Sunday, Foster expected Beauden Barrett to be available, rating this one a minor injury.
"Beaudy's achilles flared up a little bit at training yesterday [Friday] afternoon. It settled down overnight, not too bad and he's kicking out there now, but we made a decision, first test, to pull him out early.
"It certainly looks like that [a one-game injury]. He's kicking now and running around but we just felt the way it tightened up and impacted on him yesterday, we didn't want to take that chance tomorrow."
Foster raised some eyebrows on Friday by naming Jordie Barrett on the right wing in the same breath as labelling him "the form fullback" in the country after a memorable Super Rugby campaign for the Hurricanes.
The team were told the matchday 23 back on Tuesday and trained that way all week, hence the decision to keep the younger Barrett at 14. McKenzie also fills the dual playmaker role as Richie Mo'unga's backup, although Foster said on Friday that first five-eighth remained a work in progress for McKenzie and Jordie Barrett.
Another viable option would have been to shift Jordie Barrett to fullback and restore Sevu Reece to 14, with the Crusaders wing another unlucky one to miss the 23.
But McKenzie, who missed the Rugby World Cup with injury and didn't play a test last year, had the side's backing. "He [Barrett] could have played at a push but there's a fair bit of rugby ahead and I've got full confidence in Damian stepping up," said new captain Sam Cane.
McKenzie, 25, has 23 tests to his name and scored 12 tries.
This article was originally published by stuff.co.nz and is reproduced with permission
from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/rugby/bledisloe-cup-all-blacks-beauden-barrett-injury/e35341cf-ccb7-431c-8d70-dde22cf65bf9
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