All Black fractures jaw, returns to New Zealand for treatment

By SABC Sport
4th February 2024

All Blacks star Patrick Tuipulotu has suffered a fracture to his jaw and will return home to New Zealand for surgery, likely to be out of rugby for eight to ten weeks.

Tuipulotu suffered the injury late in the first half of the Blues' opening pre-season match against Tokyo Sungoliath at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium.

Blues Head Coach, Vern Cotter, said he was feeling for his Captain. "This is a tough blow for Patrick, especially early on in the season," said Cotter.

"We accept injuries are part of our game and we’re wishing Paddy a speedy recovery knowing he'll still offer plenty to the group from a leadership perspective over the next few weeks. This is a resilient group and we’ve got a strong stock of locks to call on while he recovers."

Cotter said a decision on who will take over the Blues captaincy will be made in the coming days.

The Blues take on the Yokohama Canon Eagles at Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium in their second pre-season match on Saturday February 10 as part of the Cross-Border Rugby competition.