Whitelock out in big blow to Crusaders
Losing inspirational skipper Sam Whitelock was grim news for the Crusaders in the countdown to their Super Rugby blockbuster against the Highlanders tonight
When the Crusaders announced lock Whitelock, the colossus of their engine room and a talismanic leader to boot, was still suffering symptoms from the concussion that forced him off the field during the 29-19 loss to the Hurricanes last weekend you could almost hear the collective groans from their supporters throughout the upper South Island.
Earlier this week we were told All Black Whitelock had displayed no ill-effects from the head knock he suffered at the Cake Tin, but last night Crusaders coach Scott Robertson was forced to drop the bombshell that he wouldn’t make an appearance in Dunedin.
The news comes in the wake of vicecaptain Ryan Crotty, another vital contributor to the team over the years, being scratched because of the concussion he suffered last weekend.
Whitelock’s withdrawn means Luke Romano comes into the starting side, and Quinten Strange will provide cover off the bench. Openside flanker Matt Todd, who will continue to play with a fractured thumb, will captain the side and Crotty’s replacement, Tim Bateman, will be vicecaptain. Reserve first five-eighth Mike Delany has also withdrawn because of a sore knee.
New Highlanders coach Aaron Mauger now knows his side has a real chance of tipping over the Super Rugby champions. Mauger hasn’t attempted to transform the Highlanders model since replacing Tony Brown, but he has still been bold enough to embed innovative plays in an attempt to break up opponents’ defensive lines.
Crusaders halfback Mitchell Drummond expects some subtle curveballs to have been embedded into the opponents’ game plan.
‘‘We have just got to be ready for everything,’’ Drummond, who made his All Blacks debut when he took the field as a substitute against a French XV in Lyon last year, said.
‘‘We can only do so much homework and they are going to throw something at us on Saturday night that we have never seen before, there is no doubt about that.’’
The defeat to the Hurricanes was a blow to the collective egos in the Crusaders camp, and Mauger, given he was a long-term Crusaders player and later worked as an assistant to Todd Blackadder, will know to expect a backlash.
Crusaders coach Scott Robertson, who holds the defence portfolio for the team, is aware of how eager the Highlanders will be to move the ball.