Barrett and Taylor ruled out of All Blacks' clash with Ireland

LONDON (AP) — Beauden Barrett and Codie Taylor have been ruled out of New Zealand's clash with Ireland after suffering head knocks in the win over England at Twickenham.

Both failed in-game head injuries assessments during the 24-22 victory on Saturday and have started mandatory 12-day stand downs.

“Codie's a world-class hooker — among the best two or three in the world — and in great form. Beauden was conducting the game pretty well, we thought, until the bang,” New Zealand coach Scott Robertson said on Sunday.

“They'll be missed, but they'll still be around giving their wisdom and preparing the rest of the players.”

The All Blacks play Ireland on Friday in Dublin.

Barrett will likely be replaced at flyhalf in the starting lineup by Damian McKenzie, who finished Saturday's match and slotted two important goalkicks.

Asafo Aumua replaced Taylor in the first five minutes and should start against Ireland, with George Bell probably on the bench.

Uncapped hooker Brodie McAlister and flyhalf Harry Plummer were summoned by Robertson from the touring All Blacks XV following their 38-24 win over Munster in Limerick on Saturday. Plummer's only cap was against Australia in Sydney in September.

From the same Munster match, flanker Peter O'Mahony proved his fitness in a 40-minute stint and joined Ireland's training camp in Portugal. O'Mahony had been out since Oct. 5 because of a hamstring injury.

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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby