|
Rugby World Cup 2011
New Zealand play down McCaw concerns
ESPNscrum Staff
October 12, 2011
Matt Todd at training on Wednesday
© Getty Images
Enlarge
Matt Todd was a surprise face at training for the All Blacks on Wednesday amid concerns over Richie McCaw's fitness. McCaw is carrying a foot injury which forced him to miss two of the All Blacks' pool matches and limited his participation in training. Todd had trained with the New Zealand squad ahead of their pool game against France, and he joined a number of the Blues Super Rugby squad in an opposed session today. International Rugby Board regulations state players not in the official 30-man World Cup squads cannot train with the team, only against them. However, in a move to play down concerns over the skipper's fitness - All Blacks manager Darren Shand confirmed, according to the New Zealand Rugby Union website, that Todd was not present in training as an imminent replacement for McCaw. Hosts New Zealand face Australia in the World Cup semi-finals on Sunday. © ESPN EMEA Ltd
|
| Live Scores |
| Results |
| Fixtures |
The best CVs in the rugby world?
Toulon's Heineken Cup final victory over Clermont Auvergne may have ended a long title drought for the Top 14 club but two of their players are no strangers to success
We bring you our pick of the best pictures from around the world in the last seven days with the battle for Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup glory taking centre stage