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‘Not looking too good’: Crusaders assistant provides update on injured star

(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Crusaders assistant coach James Marshall has revealed that injured lock Sam Whitelock isn’t “looking too good” after aggravating an Achilles injury against the Hurricanes.

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Whitelock missed a number of matches earlier this season with an injury, before returning in round nine to face the Melbourne Rebels.

For a bit, New Zealanders could breathe a collective sigh of relief ahead of this year’s Rugby World Cup in France.

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But then, in the Crusaders’ final regular season fixture of the campaign, the lock was replaced at half-time during the tough loss to the Hurricanes at Sky Stadium.

It was later revealed that the two-time Rugby World Cup winner had aggravated an Achilles injury, with coach Scott Robertson updating reporters earlier this week.

But Robertson was hopeful that Whitelock may have “another game or two left in him” – but assistant coach James Marshall wasn’t as optimistic.

“He’s obviously out this week (and) not looking too good for next week either,” Marshall told SENZ The Run Home.

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“We’re just sort of waiting for the full scan results and fingers crossed it’s nothing major.

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“He’s the last guy we want going down at this time of the year.”

The Crusaders confirmed earlier this month that Whitelock had signed a contract with French club Pau for after this year’s World Cup.

Whitelock will go down in history as an all-time great, and it’s fair to say that a stint on the sidelines would be an unjust end to his “last crusade.”

“He felt a little bit in the first half and then came off, which we thought was pretty precautionary but (it) turns out it might be a little bit more than that,” Marshall added.

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“Like I said, fingers crossed it’s nothing major and we’ll see him at some point before the season ends.

“Obviously it’s his last crusade this year so it would be a terrible way to go out like that.”

The Crusaders were beaten by the Fijian Drua earlier this season – a defeat which will echo throughout history as simply one of the greatest upsets ever in the competition.

But the Drua will need to repeat history, and do it away from home this time, if they are to progress to the final four.

The Crusaders host the Drua at Christchurch’s Orangetheory Stadium at 7.05pm NZST on Saturday.

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N
NB 32 minutes ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Nice bit if revisioniusm but that's all it is JW.


For your further education, I found the following breakdown of one prominent club's finances in the Top 14 [Clermont].


For Clermont (budget of €29.5 million for 2021-2022) :

- 20% from ticket sales

- 17% from the LNR (includes TV Rights, compensation from producing french internationals and other minor stuff)

- 5% from public collectivities (so you're looking at funds from the city of Clermont, the department of Puy-De-Dôme and the region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes)

- 4% from merchandising and events

- 3% from miscellaneous

- 51 % from sponsorships and partnerships. They've got 550 different partners. The main ones are CGI, Groupama, Limagrain/Jacquet, Omerin, Paprec, Renault and of course Michelin (not surprising since they're actually the founders of the club).


As you can see nothing comes from the FFR at all. The LNR is a separate entitiy to FFR and their aims frequently do not accord.


It is also why the European breakaway plotted by LNR and PR back in 2013 had nothing to do with the governing bodies of either England or France - and it most certainly did not have their blessing https://www.espn.co.uk/rugby/story/_/id/15331030/jean-pierre-lux-anglo-french-cup-detrimental-european-rugby


And from the horse's mouth [ex AB skipper Sean Fitapatrick] about the comp between Top 14 and Super Rugby:


"The Top 14 in France is probably the best rugby competition in the world at the moment, purely for the week-in, week-out.”


“I think the quality of players. They are bigger, they are faster, they are stronger. Which then carries on into the international game.”

Take it from someone who knows JW😅

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