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Tana drops Tuipulotu after late arrival

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Patrick Tuipulotu (Getty)
Patrick Tuipulotu (Getty)

Wellington - The Blues dropped lock Patrick Tuipulotu from their match against the British and Irish Lions for disciplinary reasons on Wednesday, raising questions over his All Blacks Test spot.

The Blues said Tuipulotu was pulled from the squad for Wednesday match after breaking team protocol by turning up late for a training session.

His position on the bench for the Eden Park game will be taken by Jimmy Tupou.

The slip also casts doubt on the 12-Test lock's place in the All Blacks squad for the three-Test series against the Lions, which will be named on Thursday.

The Blues v British & Irish Lions clash kicks off at 09:35 SA time.

Teams:

Blues

15 Michael Collins, 14 Matt Duffie, 13 George Moala, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Stephen Perofeta, 9 Augustine Pulu, 8 Steven Luatua, 7 Blake Gibson, 6 Akira Ioane, 5 Scott Scrafton, 4 Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 James Parsons (captain), 1 Ofa Tu’ungafasi

Substitutes: 16 Hame Faiva, 17 Alex Hodgman, 18 Sione Mafileo, 19 Jimmy Tupou, 20 Kara Pryor, 21 Sam Nock, 22 Ihaia West, 23 TJ Faiane

British and Irish Lions

15 Leigh Halfpenny (Wales), 14 Jack Nowell (England), 13 Jared Payne (Ireland), 12 Robbie Henshaw (Ireland), 11 Elliot Daly (England), 10 Dan Biggar (Wales), 9 Rhys Webb (Wales), 8 CJ Stander (Ireland), 7 Justin Tipuric (Wales), 6 James Haskell (England), 5 Courtney Lawes (England), 4 Maro Itoje (England), 3 Dan Cole (England), 2 Ken Owens (captain, Wales), 1 Jack McGrath (Ireland)

Substitutes: 16 Rory Best (Ireland), 17 Joe Marler (England), 18 Kyle Sinckler (England), 19 Iain Henderson (Ireland), 20 Peter O'Mahony (Ireland), 21 Greig Laidlaw (Scotland), 22 Johnny Sexton (Ireland), 23 Liam Williams (Wales)

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