All Blacks captain Patrick Tuipulotu at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town on Thursday.
All Blacks captain Patrick Tuipulotu believes the late withdrawal of loose forward Wallace Sititi will not disrupt their plans against the Stormers in the tour-opening clash on Friday evening at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town.
Sititi was withdrawn due to a “mild illness”, forcing a late reshuffle in the back row. Anton Segner, who was not in the initial match-day 23-player squad, is set to start in the No. 7 jersey, while Peter Lakai shifts to eighth-man after originally being named at openside flanker.
“We’ve been together for a week and a half … to slot someone like Anton in there, it’s an easy change for us,” Tuipulotu told the media after the captain’s run at Athlone Stadium.
Tuipulotu was confident that German-born Segner — with two Tests under his belt for his adoptive country — has the all-round game to make an impact against the Stormers.
