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Paris - Young All Blacks star Rieko Ioane is over a bout of mumps and will be fit to play France next Saturday, New Zealand rugby officials have said.
The 20-year-old winger missed last weekend's 31-22 win over the Barbarians at Twickenham after falling sick with the highly contagious glandular infection which is causing misery in New Zealand.
But sources with the All Blacks told AFP on Monday Ioane was cured, even though he was separated from the rest of the squad during the team's first training session in Paris.
"He had mumps last week but is better now," the source confirmed.
Ioane has scored nine tries in his 10 Tests so far - six of which came as New Zealand swept to a second straight Rugby Championship title.
There is something of a mumps epidemic in New Zealand right now with 740 cases of mumps reported in Ioane's home city of Auckland this year, their worst outbreak since 1994.
