Just when it seemed Wellington's rugby injury woes were easing, hooker Mahonri Schwalger has given coach John Plumtree another body part to monitor.
Schwalger limped away from training today with a recurrence of the hamstring strain that kept him out of Wellington's pre-season NPC win over Taranaki a fortnight ago.
The Highlanders' rake's misfortune came minutes from the end of a physical training session and seems certain to hand the starting hooking berth to Luke Mahoney for Saturday's first round NPC match against Northland.
"Well, at least it's only Monday," Plumtree said after watching Schwalger depart.
"Obviously we will have to assess Mahonri now, but feedback from the medical staff is pretty positive about everyone else."
Captain and prop Joe McDonnell's elbow appears to be less serious than first thought and he took part in most of the session as did centre Ma'a Nonu (rib) and wing Hosea Gear (shoulder), though all three stayed out of contact.
Halfback Nigel Hunt (hamstring) and midfielder Tane Tu'ipulotu (ankle) both skipped training. Plumtree was hopeful all would be available for selection by Thursday.
Wellington lock Luke Andrews said bodies weren't the only thing on the mend today at a training session aimed at erasing a poor pre-season performance in the 12-19 loss to Auckland on Saturday.
"It was a timely wake-up call," Andrews said.
"We've been given a tune up."
Andrews admitted the team's focus had drifted last week, but dismissed talk of complacency.
Though there was an added weight of expectation after reaching back-to-back finals, he said the players could not afford to rest on their laurels with intense competition for places.
Andrews will battle Crusader Ross Filipo, Ross Kennedy and Kristian Ormsby for the locking berths.
- nzpa
