Kiwis must cope without Mehrtens, Lomu

The continuing misfortunes of Andrew Mehrtens and Jonah Lomu continue to dominate the build-up to New Zealand’s Tri-Nations clash with Australia on Saturday.

Mehrtens and Lomu, battling injury and illness respectively, have both pulled out of their respective provincial sides for the weekend’s National Provincial Championship opening matches and look certain to miss the World Cup.