All Blacks hooker George Bell has been ruled out of their South African tour.
The All Blacks have a potential crisis at hooker going into the first match of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Tour against the Stormers on Friday.
New Zealand have summoned reinforcements after a devastating training ground incident in Cape Town ruled out George Bell for up to six weeks. Bell suffered a calf injury during a training session, dealing a massive blow to their front-row depth.
Head coach Dave Rennie has called up Bradley Slater to join the 44-man squad, with the Chiefs man set to arrive in Cape Town on Wednesday.
"We are all gutted for George, to be ruled out of the tour so early," Rennie said. "He’s had a frustrating past few months with injury, so it’s a real blow for him to have injured his calf again."
