Leading prop Tamaiti Williams has been ruled out of the three-test series against France starting in Dunedin on Saturday night.
The massive Crusader would require surgery for a torn meniscus, the All Blacks announced today.
He has been replaced in the squad by experienced Otago prop George Bower.
Williams’s bad news comes days after rising No 8 Wallace Sititi was scratched with a serious ankle issue.
Williams pulled up with a painful knee following the Super Rugby final between the Crusaders and the Chiefs, and scans have revealed the tear.
Williams, a beast at 196cm and 140kg, and still just 24, established himself as the All Blacks’ first-choice loosehead prop last year.
He offers something quite different from the other contenders, and the national selectors will hope he can make a swift and successful comeback.
His absence will likely mean Highlanders prop Ethan de Groot will start in the No 1 jersey on his home ground.
It also means a chance for Bower, the versatile 33-year-old prop who has played 22 tests but has not played for the All Blacks since November 2022.
