New Zealand’s preparations for the first Test against Ireland were thrown into disarray on Monday after head coach Ian Foster, two of his assistants and two players were forced to withdraw from training after testing positive for coronavirus.

To help cope with the disruption, Joe Schmidt, who coached Ireland from 2013 to 2019, was rushed into the All Blacks camp to attend training sessions.

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Ireland also suffered a setback with wing Mack Hansen testing positive, while forwards Iain Henderson and Rob Herring both picked up knocks in weekend training and will undergo scans later on Monday.

Munster’s Niall Scannell has been added to the squad to provide additional cover at hooker and is expected to arrive on Tuesday, Ireland said in a statement.

Foster, forwards coach John Plumtree and defence coach Joe McLeod are all isolating while centres David Havili and Jack Goodhue also returned positive tests and have not joined the squad in Auckland for the series opener on Saturday.

Braydon Ennor, who has played four Tests and is a teammate of Havili and Goodhue at newly crowned Super Rugby Pacific champions Crusaders, was called in as cover.

New Zealand regulations require those who return positive coronavirus tests to isolate for seven days.

This potentially rules out Foster, Plumtree and McLeod from attending the Eden Park Test, although it is unclear when their isolation periods began.

But they have a secret weapon in Schmidt, who has an intimate knowledge of Ireland’s senior players and management.

He was due to join the All Blacks staff for the upcoming Rugby Championship, but Foster said it made sense for him to get involved now.

“Joe will come in for Tuesday and Thursday’s trainings this week, and we’re really grateful to have his help,” he said in a statement.

“We’ve planned for this kind of disruption and we’ve got backup plans and people on stand-by. Joe was one of those people we could call on.

“I’ve got every confidence in our coaching group, and in our senior leaders who are all stepping up in what’s a massive test for us,” he added.

“Everyone has had to deal with these kinds of disruptions over the past couple of years. This is a real opportunity for the coaching group and team to pull together.”

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The coaches who will now oversee the buildup are assistants Brad Mooar and Greg Feek, along with Schmidt.

New Zealand should have sufficient depth to cover the absence of Havili and Goodhue, who have played 33 Tests between them.

Havili was considered a strong possibility to start the first Test but Chiefs centre Quinn Tupaea, who earned seven caps last year, is set to wear the No 12 jersey, forming a midfield combination with Rieko Ioane.

Goodhue had recently returned from injury and was regarded an unlikely prospect to start.

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