All Blacks put rivals on notice with World Cup squad

The All Blacks have named their 33-man squad who will fly to France for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

The squad features three hookers, four locks, six props, five loose forwards, three halfbacks, four midfielders, three fly-halves, and five outside backs.

The team was led out by former captain and All Blacks legend Richie McCaw in Napier.

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Samipeni Finau and Dallas McLeod were among the omissions as were Braydon Ennor, Joe Moody, and Ethan Blackadder, the latter trio down and out due to injuries.

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Of the 33-man squad, Super Rugby Pacific outfits the Blues, Crusaders, and Hurricanes each had eight players named while the Hurricanes had five and the Highlanders just three.

Of particular concern for the All Blacks heading into the naming of the squad was Brodie Retallick, who suffered a knee injury in Saturday's narrow win over the Wallabies.

Retallick said he'll likely miss the first match against France and could conceivably be out for the second against Namibia and the third "at worst" against Italy. 

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Speaking with Sky Sports The Breakdown, which is also available on Stan Sport, head coach Ian Foster detailed Retallick's prognosis.

"Brodie's knee is probably about a six-week (layoff) but we're not 100 per cent sure," said Foster.

"Whether it'll be round one or round two of the World Cup, we're not sure. We really believe he's earned his selection and we can manage that."

New Zealand's Brodie Retallick receives treatment to a knee injury during the Bledisloe Cup rugby Test match.

Asked about the likes of Moody and Blackadder, Foster said they were both "very close" to selection.

"They've both, unfortunately, got re-injuries the last couple of weeks," said Foster. 

"That's set them back a bit and we really felt — particularly with Ethan, he's not due to play for another three or four weeks. 

"Moods is sooner than that. We think he's in about two weeks' time but with the compilation of his time off and our program, having to go into that first part of this World Cup fully loaded, we just really want him to go and get some game time in the meantime. 

"We've got a lot of faith in him. He's a special player and he's done a lot in this back jersey and hopefully there's going to be an opportunity later for him."

New Zealand perform a haka during The Rugby Championship & Bledisloe Cup match between the All Blacks and Wallabies at Forsyth Barr Stadium.

Foster confirmed they would be taking three extra players as injury cover, namely Brad Weber, George Bell, and Finau

"That was always the plan, by the way, to have three more – just for training reasons," he explained.

"They can't join us when we go to Lyon, but they can just for the two weeks before that.

"We're going to be taking over Brad Weber as a fourth nine. Samipeni Finau, who will come over and may even be involved in that South African game with Brodie's knee potentially. 

"George Bell is going to join us as a fourth hooker. Asafo Aumua pulled his calf and is out for eight weeks, which happened on the weekend. It's a great opportunity for George for us to get to know him."

The All Blacks play their first Rugby World Cup game in France against the hosts on September 9 at 5.15am (AEST).

The All Blacks will then face Namibia, Italy, and Uruguay in their remaining Pool A matches.

2023 Rugby World Cup All Blacks squad (alphabetical order)

Hookers: Dane Coles, Samisoni Taukei'aho, Codie Taylor

Props: Ethan de Groot, Nepo Laulala, Tyrel Lomax, Fletcher Newell, Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Tamaiti Williams 

Locks: Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Tupou Vaa'i, Sam Whitelock

Loose forwards: Sam Cane (captain), Shannon Frizell, Luke Jacobson, Dalton Papali'i, Ardie Savea

Halfbacks: Finlay Christie, Cam Roigard, Aaron Smith

First-fives: Damian McKenzie, Richie Mo'unga

Midfielders: Jordie Barrett, David Havili, Rieko Ioane, Anton Lienert-Brown

Outside backs: Beauden Barrett, Caleb Clarke, Leicester Fainga'anuku, Will Jordan, Emoni Narawa, Mark Telea

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