WELLINGTON: Veteran lock Patrick Tuipulotu will rejoin the New Zealand squad on Monday for the Bledisloe Cup Tests against Australia after recovering from injury.
The Auckland Blues captain is yet to feature in the Rugby Championship this year after picking up a calf injury before New Zealand's first match against Argentina in August.
Tuipulotu was cleared to fly out and join the rest of the All Blacks in Sydney after safely coming through 60 minutes for a provincial side on Saturday, scoring a second-half try.
Tuipulotu is likely to partner captain Scott Barrett in the second row as the All Blacks look to retain the Bledisloe Cup they have held since 2003.
Prop Fletcher Newell will miss the Sydney Test with a calf strain, but first-choice loosehead prop Ethan de Groot has recovered from a neck injury.
Newell was used as a replacement in the defeat to South Africa in Cape Town on September 7, a third Rugby Championship loss in four matches for New Zealand.
The first Bledisloe Test takes place in Sydney on Saturday with the second, which is also the final round of the Rugby Championship, in Wellington on September 28. — AFP