Bledisloe Cup: All Blacks preparations hit by hooker injury

The All Blacks have been forced to recall injured hooker Dane Coles for the Bledisloe Cup Test against the Wallabies.

Despite carrying an injury, Dane Coles has been recalled by the All Blacks for the first Bledisloe Cup Test.

The All Blacks have been forced to recall injured hooker Dane Coles for the Bledisloe Cup Test against the Wallabies, after Nathan Harris sustained a season-ending knee injury at training.

Coles, the All Blacks regular starting hooker, injured his ribs while playing for the Hurricanes in the Super Rugby finals.

While Coles travelled to Sydney with the All Blacks to continue medical treatment with the team doctor, it was never intended that he would play.

But after Harris damaged the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee at training on Thursday, the All Blacks promoted back-up hooker Codie Taylor to the starting line-up and brought Coles on to the reserves bench.

“It is a little bit of a distraction late in the piece that you don’t want,” All Blacks captain Kieran Read said. “A guy like Dane Coles, who is vastly experienced, comes on to the bench and Codie has had plenty of (scrummaging) reps this week. Things just roll on from that point of view.”

The remaining two Tests are in New Zealand, where the Wallabies have not won since 2001, so the All Blacks can go a long way towards retaining the Bledisloe Cup for a 14th straight year if they win tonight.

But ANZ Stadium is something of a bogey ground for the All Blacks, who have not won in Sydney since 2013. It’s not quite an Eden Park-like hoodoo, but it is enough to have them on high alert.

That is why the All Blacks ­arrived in Sydney last Sunday to have a full week of preparation in the Harbour City.

“In terms of the Bledisloe Cup a first game is pretty crucial,” Read said. “We know the significance of playing in Sydney.’’

Read said the All Blacks were wary of the Wallabies, who have lost four Tests in a row, including the World Cup final at Twickenham to New Zealand.

“Any wounded Test team is a tough team to come up against,” Read said. “They are certainly in that position. They will be willing to fight for everything.

“They have (overseas-based) guys coming back in. They are desperate. We just have to be able to match that pretty early on.”

The All Blacks are almost certain to kick for the corners to put the Wallabies under pressure on their own throw into the lineout after Australia coach Michael Cheika opted for a smaller, more mobile backrow.

“We will certainly be looking to put on as much pressure as we can, considering they only have two main jumpers. But there are other areas of the game we have to be wary of, especially their trick plays at the back of the lineout and with (Michael) Hooper and (David) ­Pocock running off the backs of mauls.

“They look at that breakdown area as a strength of theirs. They are quality players, especially Pocock and Hooper in that area.

“We know it takes a full team effort to really get on top of them.”