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Crusaders suffer loss as All Black prop ruled out for the season

Fletcher Newell. (Photo by Martin Hunter/Photosport)

The Crusaders have suffered another injury blow losing their third All Black over the opening rounds according to a report by Stuff.co.nz.

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After losing All Black midfield pair Jack Goodhue and David Havili in consecutive weeks, tighthead prop Fletcher Newell has succumbed to a foot injury suffered against the Chiefs and will miss the rest of the season.

The recently capped All Black injured his big toe in the opening round and the decision was made to undergo surgery last week. The Crusaders are now without Newell and All Blacks XV rep Oli Jager in the front row for the season.

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It was a double blow for the Crusaders as lock Mitch Dunshea’s chest injury will see him miss his second straight season.

Question marks surround the timeline for All Blacks star Will Jordan to return, who has been out of action since last year’s Super Rugby Pacific final against the Blues with an ear problem.

The Crusaders’ depth is set to be tested as the prepare for a Super Rugby Pacific final rematch against the Blues at Eden Park this weekend.

They will be without eight players of the 23 who ended the Blues 15-game winning streak with a 21-7 victory due to injuries and club departures.

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After losing to the Fijian Drua in Luatoka over the weekend, Scott Robertson’s side will be desperate to avoid a 1-3 start by going down to their fierce rivals in Auckland.

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Former All Black and ex-Crusaders halfback Justin Marshall has labelled the clash as “must win” for the Crusaders as they look to avoid their worst start to a season since Robertson took over.

“They’ve certainly put themselves now in a must-win type situation, no doubt about it,” Marshall told SENZ’s The Rugby Run show.

“I think the game in Fiji would have been draining, but I certainly feel that the game in Wellington … and the Blues (was more physical), they had some very sore players.

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“It was an incredibly physical game so I think the Crusaders won’t have kind of had that type of physicality against the Drua because it was a more free-flowing game.

“They’ve got to reset as well to get back to that physical mindset to take on the Blues who have just been through a game like that.”

After resting some of their big name All Blacks against the Drua, the side will likely re-load for the Blues with the return of Richie Mo’unga, Leicester Fainga’anuku, Joe Moody, Codie Taylor, Ethan Blackadder and Mitchell Drummond.

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RedWarrior 20 minutes ago
Many England fans echoing the same gripe following Six Nations loss

The English defense was excellent in the first half. This is considering Ireland's attack has improved significantly since the Autumn with former Leinster attack coach Goodman. Ireland were beaten by NZ in the Autumn, are behind SA and arguably behind France so de facto 4th in order (rankings take time to catch up) As Eddie Jones said Ireland are still in that elite group so England's domination in the first half is noteworthy.

I believe they have spent the time since the Autumn largely on defence. On broken play they were relying on Smiths instint along with some jiggery pokery. For Smiths early line break a Twindaloo blocked Baird which left the gap for smith. It looked like he did Aki, but Baird was a little late arriving and clever play by Tom Curry allowed the gap for Smith. Earls line break was Smith spotting Baird coming out and beating him with a beautiful pass to Earl.

We saw the rehearsed plays for a couple of Ireland's tries. The Aki try was just identifying that England tended to hide Smith on the wing creating a vulnerability which Ireland exploited with one of Akis great finishes.

Although Ireland were relaxing at the end the two English tries were good enough quality and we may see more of it next week (Scotland will also have taken note).

Although on the easier side of the draw Borthwick almost took England to a RWC final.

But in common with the top4 you need to have firepower to get those tries in big games. Can Borthwick manage that? I don't think so.

Next week even if England have a great first half again, you would be looking at France converting 3 of those Irish chances and pushing on after the break.

Can Borthwick develop a plan to beat France in the next few years. If the answer is no England need to find someone who can.

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