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Key Crusaders injured in final round win

A pair of key Crusaders are in doubt following injuries suffered in the side’s final round 54-17 victory over the Blues.

All Blacks captain Kieran Read and midfielder Ryan Crotty both left the field early during the match and head coach Scott Robertson has confirmed both players had scans to determine the extent of the damage.

Read suffered an injury to his wrist, while Crotty’s injury is related to his thumb.

“Reado [Read] and Crotts [Crotty] are getting some imaging now and we will know in the next 24 to 48 hours how they are, and make a call,” Robertson said after the match.

“It is the same wrist Kieran has done previously, so hopefully it is nothing major,” Robetson added. “Look, he played on with it for 10 minutes (after hurting it) and played well. We said ‘off you go, let’s look after you’. So hopefully it is something minor.”

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That prior injury kept Read out of action for half of the 2017 season.

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Another significant injury would be a tough blow for Read and the Crusaders. The Number Eight was making just his second appearance of the year after recovering from back surgery. He is also yet to appear for the All Blacks this season.

Head coach Robertson defended his decision to play Read in a game that had no playoff implications.

“Kieran needs rugby. Our plan for tonight was 50 minutes, otherwise he was going into a quarterfinal witih one game. He is fit and wants to play and you need people that are battle hardened,” Robertson said.

“You are going to get injuries playing rugby and hopefully your timing is right. We will know in the next few days.”

The Crusaders are attempting to win their second consecutive Super Rugby title and will host the first quarter-final against the Sharks next weekend.

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Nickers 33 minutes ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

I thought we made a lot of progress against that type of defence by the WC last year. Lots of direct running and punching holes rather than using width. Against that type of defence I think you have to be looking to kick on first phase when you have front foot ball which we did relatively successfully. We are playing a lot of rugby behind the gain line at the moment. They are looking for those little interchanges for soft shoulders and fast ball or off loads but it regularly turns into them battering away with slow ball and going backwards, then putting in a very rushed kick under huge pressure.


JB brought that dimension when he first moved into 12 a couple of years ago but he's definitely not been at his best this year. I don't know if it is because he is being asked to play a narrow role, or carrying a niggle or two, but he does not look confident to me. He had that clean break on the weekend and stood there like he was a prop who found himself in open space and didn't know what to do with the ball. He is still a good first phase ball carrier though, they use him a lot off the line out to set up fast clean ball, but I don't think anyone is particularly clear on what they are supposed to do at that point. He was used really successfully as a second playmaker last year but I don't think he's been at that role once this year. He is a triple threat player but playing a very 1 dimensional role at the moment. He and Reiko have been absolutely rock solid on defence which is why I don't think there will be too much experimentation or changes there.

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