Injury-hit All Blacks still capable of fielding a strong side against Wales, says Barnes

Assistant coach Neil Barnes has backed New Zealand’s depth to absorb a growing injury crisis as the All Blacks prepare to face Wales in Cardiff in the Nations Championship, with Will Jordan ruled out after sustaining a minor hamstring tear and Jordie Barrett also not expected to feature.

Jordan, the All Blacks’ all-time leading try scorer, limped off with the injury and will miss both the Wales Test and the likely subsequent fixture against England at Twickenham. The team’s medical staff are hopeful he can return for the tournament’s finals weekend, though Barnes was cautious about a firm timeline when speaking at the University of Bath, where New Zealand are training ahead of the trip to Cardiff.

“It’s not conclusive where he’s at. It’s a minor tear, but it depends on how quickly it starts to heal this week. So we’ll see how that progresses as the week comes along,” Barnes said.

Barrett, meanwhile, has cleared all head injury assessment protocols following last week’s match against Scotland at Murrayfield but is still not expected to be named in the 23-man squad for the Wales game.

The injury toll on the Northern Tour has now surpassed ten players, yet Barnes remained upbeat about the squad’s ability to compete at the highest level, pointing to the quality and competition for places throughout the group.

“At the end of the day, there’s a lot of positions in this team where it’s really close, and we can make quite a few changes and still put a damn good side out there,” Barnes said. “There’s a lot of trust in the people we selected in this group, so a couple of people will get opportunities, and they’ve deserved them. If they perform, it raises the bar in that position.”

Winger Josh Moorby, who crossed for a try in New Zealand’s win over Scotland, said the squad had identified areas for improvement despite the positive result and expressed respect for a Wales side that claimed a bonus-point victory over Japan at the weekend.

“We massively respect them. They’re a high-quality squad,” Moorby said. “We’re looking at a lot of things that we can do better from the weekend just gone, so we’ll be attacking this week with a lot of intent.”

Moorby also acknowledged the physical challenge Wales will pose, describing Steve Tandy’s side as big in midfield, quick out wide, and backed by a strong forward pack.