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Wellington - Star All Blacks wing Rieko Ioane could be ruled out of Saturday's Test with France in Paris after it was revealed that he has the mumps.
This is the second such case in the world champions' squad after Crusaders centre Jack Goodhue also suffered the illness recently and it forced him to delay his departure from New Zealand.
This meant that he missed the chance to make his All Blacks debut against the Barbarians at Twickenham on Saturday.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen confirmed that he is sweating over Ioane's fitness and said they have taken the right steps to ensure that the illness does not spread through the squad.
"The doc has done a great job, and we've isolated him, so we're not worried about it spreading," he told Stuff.
"It's unrelated to Jack Goodhue's because they haven't been in contact, but it has obviously come out of Auckland somewhere.
"It will be touch and go though if he is available (to face France). He trained this morning, so we'll just have to see how well he comes through the week."
