Dave Rennie has confirmed Cortez Ratima is tracking well from the PCL injury sustained against the Bulls, with the scrumhalf a genuine chance to feature in the third Test against the Springboks. Noah Hotham was called up on August 17 as the fourth scrumhalf in the touring party after Ratima went down, and started against the Lions in the All Blacks' 41-36 midweek win.
"He's coming through pretty quickly; it's a PCL injury. It's something that occurs when you land hard on the knee on the ground," Rennie said. "The longer we leave him, the stronger he will get. He's definitely in with a chance for the third Test, but we'll make a call on him."
Cam Roigard's limited involvement — restricted to one game on tour — has added further pressure to the scrumhalf depth, forcing Rennie to lean heavily on Kyle Preston, the only player to have featured in every New Zealand game on tour. Preston got 30 minutes against the Lions after just seven or eight minutes in the Test, with Rennie noting his qualities at the breakdown and overall skill set as encouraging signs for the remainder of the series.