WELLINGTON ¨C Loose forward Shannon Frizell was surprised and delighted to be summoned to the All Blacks¡¯ Rugby World Cup squad on Friday, having been wearing a cow suit at a gym session only hours before the call from the team¡¯s staff.

The Tonga-born 25-year-old was overlooked on Steve Hansen¡¯s initial 31-man squad but flew off to Japan late on Friday to replace injured rookie Luke Jacobson, who was ruled out of the tournament by a delayed onset of concussion.

Capped five times for New Zealand, Frizell was at the gym earlier on Friday wearing a white cow suit to promote Tasman¡¯s match against North Harbour in the nation¡¯s provincial rugby competition.

The ¡°Wear Ya Onesie Sunday¡± promotion urged fans to turn up in jump suits, or ¡°onesies,¡± to the weekend clash.

Frizell, instead, will be back in his All Blacks kit, pressing for a spot in the blockbuster opener against South Africa in Yokohama on Sept. 21.

The versatile Frizell can play lock, No. 8 and blindside flanker but his selection ahead of experienced No. 6 and Tasman teammate Liam Squire was a surprise for some New Zealand fans.

¡°I always hoped for a call like this, and I got it,¡± a thrilled Frizell told reporters at Auckland Airport late on Friday.

¡°I was surprised by it ... I was getting ready for bed and got a message, so I called him straight away, the manager. I couldn¡¯t go to sleep until later.

¡°I called my mum straight away. I just said ¡®I¡¯m going to Japan today¡¯ and she was just screaming.¡±

He replaces highly rated 22-year-old Jacobson, who battled a concussion in 2018 and only returned to rugby in March after eight months out.

¡°I¡¯m gutted for him, (but) he¡¯ll come back fitter and stronger. At the same time, I¡¯m grateful for the opportunity,¡± said Frizell, who missed the All Blacks¡¯ final World Cup warmup against Tonga and the previous two tests against Australia.

Overlooked Squire opted out of the Southern Hemisphere¡¯s Rugby Championship after an injury-blighted Super Rugby season but wrote on social media last month that he was ¡°100% available¡± if injuries struck the All Blacks.

Hansen told reporters at the team¡¯s base in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, that it was still too early for Squire to be considered.

¡°It¡¯s happened right at the beginning of the tournament,¡± he said of Jacobson¡¯s injury.

¡°So nothing has changed from that point of view for him.¡±