Training injuries sideline Nepo Laulala and Dominic Bird

All Blacks and Chiefs tighthead prop Nepo Laulala tore three ligaments in his right knee yesterday: the ACL, PCL and MCL and will undergo surgery soon. Recovery from this kind of reconstructive surgery typically requires 12 months which rules him out for the rest of 2016. Bird fractured his right foot and will miss the first 10 weeks of Super Rugby. Bird said: “It’s not the start to the season I was hoping for, it’s as frustrating as ever, like any injury.  I’m looking at ten weeks of recovery so I’ll be doing what I can to get the rest of my body right in the meantime.  I’ll still be chipping in with a lot of line-out stuff with the boys and helping the team however I can.”