The All Blacks have been forced into an early change to their end-of-year tour squad.

New Zealand will go on tour without veteran lock Patrick Tuipulotu, who’s been ruled out due to a shoulder injury that will sideline him for six months.

New Zealand Rugby confirmed that the 32-year-old’s shoulder problem was a pre-existing issue that worsened during the Rugby Championship, and will now require surgery – a major setback for both the All Blacks and the Blues, who will start the new Super Rugby Pacific season without their captain.

It’s another tough break for Tuipulotu, whose 11-year international career has been repeatedly interrupted by injury, including a facial fracture sustained in Argentina earlier this year.

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Replacing him in the squad is Sam Darry, who made his Test debut in 2024 and was initially set to be part of the All Blacks XV for their own end-of-year campaign.

The 24-year-old lock comes off a strong NPC season with Canterbury and will now link up with the top squad next week – ruling him out of the NPC final, should Canterbury qualify.

Tuipulotu’s withdrawal further depletes New Zealand’s second-row stocks, with Tupou Vaa’i also unavailable for the remainder of the season.

It leaves captain Scott Barrett (86 caps) as the only lock in the squad with more than nine Test appearances, alongside Fabian Holland (nine), Josh Lord (eight) and the newly called-up Darry.

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Meanwhile, the All Blacks XV squad will now include three locks – Naitoa Ah Kuoi, Josh Beehre, and Isaia Walker-Leawere – after one of them was drafted in to replace Darry following his promotion.

Photo: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

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