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'Does put a damper on things': Crusaders concerned with All Black duo

David Havili of the Crusaders is assisted from the field during the round 14 Super Rugby Pacific match between Crusaders and NSW Waratahs at Orangetheory Stadium, on May 27, 2023, in Christchurch, New Zealand. (Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)

The Crusaders comprehensive 42-18 victory over the Waratahs has come with a cost with two more All Blacks under injury clouds heading into the final round.

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All Black second five-eighth David Havili limped from the field in the second half with a leg injury, while loose forward Cullen Grace lasted only a few minutes before coming off with a knee injury.

Havili spent time on the sidelines after breaking his arm in Fiji against the Drua in the early rounds while Grace’s latest injury concern is also his second stint on the sidelines.

Ethan Blackadder is expected to come back from a calf injury however the casualty ward has put a ‘damper on things’ according to Scott Robertson.

The Crusaders were forced to call upon former Blues prop John Afoa who debuted after landing in Christchurch two days prior after returning from France.

Injuries to four props and a desire to give Tamaiti Williams a lesser load forced the Crusaders to recruit Afoa.

Robertson said he undertook a worldwide search to find an experienced prop available on short notice.

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“There’s not many experienced props,” Robertson said.

“When you look at New Zealand rugby, and you’re down to this, it’s a concern. But I don’t want to take away from a good story.”

Despite the toll the Crusaders have battled through to second place on the ladder, a remarkable feat given the stress their depth has been under this year.

With a top four place assured after taking care of the Waratahs, the Crusaders will face the Hurricanes in the final round where they want to keep up momentum.

“We’ve got to get a bit of cohesion, we’ve got to get guys game time together, we’ve had our chance to freshen the group up.

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“We’ll look at the leaderboard, but we’ll actually look what our team needs,” he said.

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H
Hellhound 15 minutes ago
France put World Cup pain behind them with unbeaten run in November

France is starting to look like they are finally over their WC headache, although they were lucky that NZ had a very bad game. The Argies as usual is one game good, the next bad. If they can sort that out and be more consistent, they could become contenders for the WC.


NZ, Argentina (if they are more consistent), and now the Wallabies too is in an upward curve (can they be consistent?), as well as Fiji(as inconsistent as Argentina) looks like possible contenders. The Boks will be as usual a huge threat to defend their title. Things are looking up for the South, so the North should rightfully beware of the Southern Hemisphere threat.


With the French looking dangerous, the English with their close runs (mostly a mindset problem) and the Scottish seems to be the NH main contenders. The Irish is good, but not excellent anymore. They are more overbearing and with their glory days mostly gone with old players hanging on by a thread, by 2027 if they don't start adding in the younger players, they won't make it past yet another WC Quarter final. The problem is that their youngsters, while good is nothing special.


That is just 8 teams without the Irish that can become real WC contenders. Lots of hickups to be sorted still for these teams, excluding the Boks to become a threat. Make no mistake, the top Tier is much closer than people realise and the 2027 WC will be a really great WC, possibly the best contended WC ever.

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