Sam Cane Neck Injury Update: All Blacks Captain Health Update 2023
Rugby is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. Rugby is simply based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is played between two teams of 15 players each, using an oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field called a pitch. The field has H-shared goalposts at both ends. Rugby is a popular sport around the world, played by people of all genders, ages, and sizes. In 2014, there were more than 6 million people playing worldwide, of whom 2.36 million were registered players.
Sam Cane Neck Injury Update
A surfeit of courage and bull neck comes in handy in rugby, and Sam Cane has relied heavily on both to overcome a horrifying injury and become the man to lead the All Blacks into a new era. Openside flanker, a 28-year-old was named Kieran Read’s successor as New Zealand captain on Tuesday, less than two years after breaking his neck in a 32-30 win over South Africa in Pretoria.
The collision with Springboks loose forward Francois Louw left Cane in considerable pain, yet few would have known it as he walked from the field at Loftus Versfeld. Cane remarked that his sturdy neck had not only saved his rugby career but may also have kept him out of a wheelchair, following surgery a few days later. He said, “I may not be standing without it”. Cane had few fears about plunging back into the thick of the action once given the all-clear a year ago, while he worried he might never return to the playing field. In their unsuccessful World Cup hat-trick bid in Japan, he reclaimed the All Blacks number seven jersey and duly joined.
After more than a decade of world domination, the semi-final elimination at the hand of England was a bitter pill to swallow for rugby-mad New Zealand. Under Steve Hansen’s successor and former assistant Ian Foster, the All Black’s ability to regenerate will be under scrutiny from fans spoiled on success. With Foster having tapped him as captain in February before the outbreak of the news coronavirus triggered a global shutdown of sport, Cane can also keep a secret. The plan was to announce the 68-test flanker’s appointment a few weeks into the Super Rugby season but the competition was halted in March.
Raising hopes that rugby might return soon, and even tests with neighboring Australia if circumstances follow, COVID-19 infection has plunged.
