All Blacks halfback Noah Hotham leaves the field injured during the second test against the Springboks, in Wellington, 13 September, 2025 Photo: Photosport
The All Blacks' halfback woes have worsened, with Noah Hotham ruled out of the Rugby Championship with a broken leg.
Hotham fractured a fibula just nine minutes into the second test against the Springboks in Wellington on Saturday.
He was trying to tackle Springbok lock Lood de Jager when he suffered the injury, getting a head knock as well, which resulted in a failed head injury assessment.
Noah Hotham in hospital. Photo: Noah Hothan / Instagram
In a cruel twist of fate, Hotham was having his first test back after he suffered an ankle sprain in the third test against France in July, causing him to miss the first three rounds of the Rugby Championship.
Scans after the Wellington test showed a fractured fibula (calf bone) and he had surgery on Monday.
The All Blacks camp said that had ruled him out of the remainder of the Rugby Championship.
Hotham, Cam Roigard and Cortez Ratima were originally named as the halfbacks in the New Zealand squad for the championship, but all have been injured, with Roigard suffering a foot stress fracture and Ratima fracturing a rib against Argentina.
Finlay Christie started the first test against South Africa at Eden Park, with Kyle Preston making his debut off the bench.
Christie played the remainder of the second test after Hotham's injury.
Head coach Scott Robertson expressed hope after the game that Roigard and Ratima could return for the side's next match, the Bledisloe Cup test against the Wallabies in Auckland on 27 September.
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