Battered Blacks take it easy as Cannon gets two weeks

As the New Zealand medical staff work overtime after the All Blacks’ opening victory, Australia’s Brendan Cannon receives a two-week ban.

After the rush of victory subsided, New Zealand were left with injuries to Jono Gibbes, Daniel Carter, Simon Maling and Doug Howlett to contend with.

Throw in the original injuries to Richie McCaw and Keith Robinson and the training pitch is beginning to look like a field hospital. However, the prognosis isn’t all that bad as most of the injured players sat out training for precautionary reasons. Carter, Maling and Howlett are expected to play, and Keith Robinson back injury is making steady progress. Jono Gibbes came off with a chest injury against Australia, but he too is making good progress.

Richie McCaw however, continues to get headaches after his head injury against England and is unlikely to be passed fit.

Apart from Victor Matfield, the Springboks only injury concern is reserve hooker Hanyani Shimange, who has a slight calf strain but is expected to be available for selection.

Despite this, it is thought that Jake White will wait to assess weather conditions in Christchurch before selecting his starting fifteen, with speculation that Joe van Niekerk will get a run in the backrow.

Meantime, Brendan Cannon received a two-week suspension for the clean punch he threw at Kevan Mealamu last Saturday. Since Australia aren’t playing this weekend, he will miss only one Tri-Nations match (versus South Africa) meaning that he’ll be available for the return match against New Zealand.

Cannon’s suspension has inevitably attracted quite an amount of controversy, with many feeling that he shouldn’t have been alone in being punished. Certainly, the performance of Carlos Spencer and Justin Marshall as third and fourth men in must have left them a little nervous after the match.