Kalyn Ponga to have surgery but remains in Kiwis’ World Cup camp after broken arm
Kalyn Ponga will undergo surgery on a broken left arm but will remain in New Zealand’s Rugby League World Cup camp after sustaining the injury during the Kiwis’ 24-22 loss to Australia at Allianz Stadium on Thursday. New Zealand have not given up hope he could play again in the tournament.
Ponga had been cleared earlier this year to switch his international allegiance to New Zealand and produced a strong display in his first Test since the move, scoring two tries and running 253 metres from 16 runs with three line breaks and five tackle breaks for the Newcastle skipper before departing in the 70th minute after suffering the injury earlier in the second half.
Ponga has been booked in for surgery after breaking his radius in his left arm. “We wish Kalyn all the best with his surgery today,” Macleod said in a statement. “We’ll see how that goes but for now he will remain in camp.”
Coach Stacey Jones said Ponga had played through pain and described his condition on the field. “He couldn’t catch a ball or anything like that. He was in a bit of discomfort,” Jones said. Ponga was replaced by Keano Kini late in the match and was seen on the sidelines with his arm in a sling; Jones added that Kini would likely replace Ponga in next week’s pool match.
Kiwis captain James Fisher-Harris praised Ponga’s contribution and character. “He’s a tough guy and obviously has a lot of pride in the black and white jersey, and he doesn’t want to let his teammates down,” said Kiwis captain James Fisher-Harris. “I thought he did an outstanding job, he’s a freakish player, but he’s also one of those tough players. We’re feeling for him right now, but fingers crossed it’s not too bad.”
New Zealand’s narrow defeat to Australia featured five Kangaroos tries, two of which came from interceptions and two from kicks, and the Kiwis controlled territory but failed to convert that advantage into a win. “Unfortunately, we were on the losing side, but we will learn from it and we will get better, and we will make some adjustments,” Jones said. “You go in that changing room and everyone’s down, they’re hurting. But you just bounce back and you get back into it. We know these boys, they work hard, they’re professional, we’ll be OK.”
New Zealand face the Cook Islands in Christchurch next week before wrapping up their group stage matches against Fiji; if Ponga is ruled out of the tournament the Kiwis can apply for clearance to add an additional player to their squad.