Victor Vito
Dominic Bird
New Zealand will be without forward Victor Vito for the final match of their Northern Hemisphere tour after he returned home through injury.
The loose forwatd suffered a calf problem before half-time against Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday, and was forced to watch the second period from the sidelines as the All Blacks ran out 24-16 winners.
Vito had started the match well, crossing in the ninth minute to register his third international try.
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After a solid 38-minute shift he pulled his right calf muscle and Hansen says the exasperated look on his face as he was helped off reflected his mood afterwards.
“He’s pretty disappointed to be fair. He’s waited a long time to get that opportunity,” Hansen said.
“He was building into the game quite nicely and his ball carrying was good.”
The severity of his injury was initially unclear, but a message on the All Blacks’ Twitter account on Sunday revealed the 27-year-old will return to New Zealand together with Dominic Bird.
Bird, who was called into the squad last week as cover for Brodie Retallick and Patrick Tuipulotu will return home as the pair have both recovered from shoulder niggles and are fit to face the Welsh.
Also available for the last Test of the year is veteran centre Conrad Smith, who rejoined the squad on Sunday after returning home last week to attend to a personal issue.