WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Scrumhalf Noah Hotham will join the All Blacks in South Africa ahead of Saturday's first test as cover for injured halves Cortez Ratima and Cam Roigard.
Ratima suffered a knee injury during New Zealand's most-recent match against the Bulls in Pretoria while Roigard has yet to play on tour because of a calf injury.
Hotham was a contentious omission from the All Blacks' original 44-man touring squad as the selectors opted instead for his Crusaders understudy Kyle Preston.
Prop Ollie Norris also has been ruled out of the tour with a knee cartilage injury. Norris will return to New Zealand, and a prop replacement is set to be named in due course.
The South Africa tour has exacted a heavy injury toll before the first of four test matches between the world champion Springboks and second-ranked All Blacks.
New Zealand already has lost hooker George Bell with a calf injury, center Billy Proctor with a broken shoulder blade and winger Caleb Clarke with a shoulder tendon injury. All three have returned home.
At the same time, Roigard and Ratima remain on tour while carrying injuries along with flyhalf Damian McKenzie, who has an ankle injury, and winger Will Jordan who has yet to play because of a back injury.
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Players compete in a scrum during a rugby match between Bulls and New Zealand, in Pretoria, South Africa, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Barcelona’s renovated Camp Nou was picked over Wembley Stadium in London to host the 2029 Champions League final, UEFA said Tuesday.
The choice gives Barcelona a marquee game one year before Spain co-hosts the 2030 World Cup with Portugal and Morocco. Staging that final is a contest between Real Madrid’s renovated Santiago Bernabéu home and the 115,000-seat stadium being built in Casablanca.
UEFA’s executive committee also confirmed the 2028 Champions League final will return to Bayern Munich’s stadium, which was the only bidder, just three years after the 2025 edition.
The much-delayed rebuild of a 105,000-seat Camp Nou is ongoing with the upper tier and roof still under construction.
Barcelona last hosted the Champions League final in 1999, when Manchester United’s two stoppage-time goals stunned a dominant Bayern team.
Wembley has hosted three times since then — in 2011, 2013 and 2024 — and eight times in total since the European Cup started 71 years ago.
This season's Champions League final goes to Madrid at Atletico's Metropolitano stadium.
Record eight-time Women’s Champions League winner Lyon will host the final in 2028.
UEFA also picked Cardiff for the 2029 women’s final in the city center national stadium that will host the opening game of the men’s 2028 European Championship.
UEFA also picked hosts for two editions of the second-tier Europa League: Romania’s national stadium in Bucharest in 2028 and the new Serbian national venue in Belgrade for 2029.
The final this season is at Eintracht Frankfurt’s Waldstadium home.
Turin will get the 2028 final of the third-tier men's club competition at Juventus’ stadium. The 2029 final will be at the 67,000-seat Puskás Aréna in Budapest, which hosted the Champions League final in May.
The success of the Conference League since launching in 2021 has seen its finals venues outgrow the 20,000-seat venues for the first two title matches held in Tirana, Albania and Czech capital Prague.
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Barcelona's Lamine Yamal celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer between Barcelona and Feyenoord in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026.(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
