Dave Rennie has confirmed he expects Cam Roigard, Will Jordan and Damian McKenzie to be available for the first Test against the Springboks, despite all three missing the All Blacks' tour match against the Bulls in Pretoria.
Roigard withdrew from Tuesday's 54-0 win over the Sharks with a tight calf and was managed out of the Bulls fixture as a precaution, having played heavily this season. Rennie is confident the first-choice scrumhalf will be fit in time. McKenzie injured his ankle against the Sharks and departed in the first half, while Jordan — carrying a minor back injury — has yet to feature on tour after last playing for the All Blacks against Ireland in the Nations Championship last month.
"With Damian injuring his ankle, he's also not available for the Bulls, but we're expecting him to be okay for the Test," Rennie said. "We need to get decent training into [Jordan] a decent training week next week. The original plan was to play him against the Sharks, and he wasn't good for that."
Rennie's squad to face the Bulls includes 14 players who featured against the Stormers in Cape Town last week and six from the Sharks match, giving a sizeable portion of the group back-to-back midweek outings at altitude ahead of the Test series opener.
The coach acknowledged the Bulls clash will look markedly different from his likely Test starting XV but said performances this week could still influence selection. "There are a number of guys against the Bulls who will back up again," he said. "We're getting closer; it's just that there's a lot of competition for places. You look at our wingers — there's some tough decisions there as well."
Rennie also flagged the importance of Richie Mo'unga's inclusion in the touring squad given the injuries to McKenzie and Jordan, noting that most of the All Blacks' outside-back cover currently comes through the 10 channel.