Dave Rennie has confirmed that Will Jordan remains doubtful for the opening Test against the Springboks at Ellis Park on 22 August, with the winger yet to feature on tour due to a back injury.
Jordan has been absent from all three tour matches to date — against the Stormers, Sharks and Bulls — and Rennie acknowledges the 28-year-old is "not quite right", though he added they are "reasonably confident" he will be available for the first Test. The original plan was to introduce Jordan against the Sharks in Durban, where the All Blacks ran out 54-0 winners, before a revised target of the Bulls match in Pretoria also came and went. "He's not quite right, but he's definitely better," Rennie said. "We need to get decent training into him and a decent training week next week."
Jordan, who overtook Doug Howlett as New Zealand's all-time leading Test try-scorer last month with a hat-trick in the 47-17 win over Italy, has crossed 51 times in 57 Tests. The back complaint follows a calf injury that curtailed his Super Rugby Pacific campaign with the Crusaders.
Scrum-half Cam Roigard is a separate concern after pulling up with a calf niggle that ruled him out of the Sharks matchday squad, having been pencilled in for 30 minutes off the bench. Rennie is confident Roigard will be fit for Ellis Park, saying "he's played a lot of rugby this year."
On the positive side for the All Blacks, hooker Codie Taylor and tighthead Tyrel Lomax have both recovered from calf and leg injuries respectively and were named in the starting line-up for Saturday's clash against the Bulls — their first appearances of the tour.