Snubbed All Black Ngani Laumape scores a brilliant brace for Manawatu
- 2042
All Black centre scored a brilliant brace for Manawatu in the Mitre 10 Cup this weekend against Southland.
He linked up well with halfback Jamie Booth for the first try before putting in a superb chip and chase for the second.
Laumape was rumoured to replace Sonny Bill Williams in the All Blacks squad but Assistant coach Ian Foster dispelled the rumours saying:
"Is he going home? No. Is he available for selection based on his progression last week? Then I think the answer is yes.
"He’s trained really well and got through it and I think we said last week we had a progression plan for a number of the guys who brought niggles into the week and overall came through pretty good. In fact, everyone was training at nearly 100 per cent in the last training session.
"It’s just disappointing that a mischievous person has tweeted something with no information behind it."
When asked if there was anyone on standby to replace Williams, Foster said: "I’ve just answered that question. There’s no people needed."
