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'We actually thought about co-captains' - Steve Hansen admits management struggled to fill Kieran Read's role in new team

May 20, 2018

Steve Hansen has admitted amongst all the headaches he had just selecting his 33-man All Blacks squad, finding the right player to lead them also proved difficult.

Regular All Blacks captain Kieran Read will miss next month's three-Test series against France as he continues his recovery from a back surgery, which left the leadership role to be filled by team selectors.

Sam Whitelock, Sam Cane and Ben Smith all stood out as prime candidates but Hansen admitted choosing one was tough.

"We actually thought about co-captains," he said.

"But in the end we've gone with just the one and two vice-captain model."

Hansen went with Whitelock as the captain, with Smith and Cane backing him up.

"Sam did a great job for us last year in Wales - we liked what we saw there.

"We liked the idea of someone up front having a voice and being able to communicate with the ref."

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