Sam Cane eyes humble Heartland return this weekend before joining All Blacks.
New Zealand captain Sam Cane is looking forwards to returning to the All Blacks squad after recovering from injury in time to face the United States in Washington later this month.
Cane last commanded the All Blacks against Argentina in November 2020, and since then, Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, and Ardie Savea have taken over as captains.
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After his Heartland match against King Country on Saturday in Taupo, 2020 All Blacks captain declared himself ready, willing, and able to go up to full international action. He’ll travel out to the United States on Thursday in about as good a mood as one could be after not playing rugby since March of this year.
Of course, after tearing his pectoral muscle playing for the Chiefs against the Blues in Super Rugby Aotearoa, Cane, the first-choice All Blacks No 7, and Ian Foster’s initial skipper in the Covid-shortened 2020 campaign had undergone his second major surgery in three years.
Cane also gave a resounding thumbs-up to 2021 All Blacks he will rejoin in the US capital later this week.
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“They’ve taken a step up from last year,” he said. “A real strength is the depth that’s been built and internal competition for places. We’ve seen growth in a lot of guys in terms of leadership and having to step up with guys away … I think we’re in a much better place than last year and hopefully we can keep improving on this tour.”
Cane, on the other hand, stated he wouldn’t get his expectations up and would wait until his body was in good shape before returning to rugby.
Cane joined All Blacks training sessions last week ahead of the team’s second test against Fiji on Saturday, and Foster said he may return by the end of September.
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