Curtis Rona is coming home early from the England tour.
The Kiwis winger will leave tomorrow, given permission to return to New Zealand as his wife is due to give birth later this week.
Despite a breakthrough NRL season - he was second in the try scoring charts - Ronahas yet to take the field on this tour. He was unlikely to play in the series deciding third test in Wigan either - barring an injury to incumbents Shaun-Kenny-Dowall or Jason Nightingale and for this reason coach Stephen Kearney has given his blessing to the early departure.
With his child due during the middle of the tour, it was always going to be a tough call to come on the trip.
"It was a really hard decision," Rona told the New Zealand Herald earlier in the trip. "But an opportunity to represent your country doesn't come along very often, so you have to take it. And my wife will be well supported by family."
Rona told his teammates this morning of his decision.
His lack of game time will continue a pattern of non-playing wingers in Kiwis campaigns; Antonio Winterstein was part of the 2010 trip to England and France but didn't play a single minute, while last year Sosaia Feki didn't take the field during the 2014 Four Nations campaign.
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