Tuesday Round-Up

Blues skipper leaves: Super Rugby franchise the Blues will be without inspirational skipper Luke Braid following the close of the 2015 domestic season, after it was revealed that the back rower will be relocating to France to take up a contract with Top 14 outfit Bordeaux Begles. Having initially turned down a lucrative offer from the French side back in 2013, 26 year-old Braid has since fallen by the wayside in terms of All Blacks selection, along with undergoing two sets of shoulder reconstruction surgery. Upon the revealing of the news, Braid spoke of the security the move gave him, especially considering the multitude of players bound to be offered contracts by French outfits following the climax of the 2015 World Cup. With Braid leaving the Auckland-based franchise, the Blues will now be led by fellow backrower, Jerome Kaino for the coming Super Rugby season at the turn of the new year.

Romano in: All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen all but confirmed today that second rower Luke Romano would start against Scotland at Murrayfield this weekend. With Brodie Retallick unlikely to recover in time from a shoulder injury picked up against England at Twickenham last weekend, Romano is seen as the next viable option to partner the impressive Sam Whitelock in the engine room. Having made good progress with the team’s well-being and conditioning staff, Hansen says Romano is in great shape and ready to meet the challenge of the likes of Richie Gray come Saturday’s test at Murrayfield. Elsewhere for the All Blacks, Conrad Smith’s absence will see competition for a midfield slot heat up between both Ryan Crotty and Malakai Fekitoa, with the slight possibility that both will feature in the starting XV, should Hansen determine that Sonny Bill Williams requires a break following his return to the 15 a side version of the game. 

Ryan Sheady