Barrett to miss Mo’unga match-up

Fans salivating over a potential Beauden Barrett-Richie Mo’unga showdown will have to wait until later in the season.

Hurricanes and All Blacks starting first-five Barrett is expected to miss this weekend’s Super Rugby derby against the Crusaders in Christchurch while taking extended All Blacks leave.

James Marshall, who can cover 10 or 15, lasted five minutes in his Hurricanes return as a second-half substitute in their 20-19 win over the Waratahs on Saturday. He was taken to hospital after the match with a dislocated shoulder.

Hurricanes coach John Plumtree was asked post-match about his side’s depth at first-five given Marshall’s loss.

‘‘We’ve obviously got Jackson Garden-Bachop to fall back on and Beauden coming back, eventually, so it’s not all doom and gloom,’’ he said.

Plumtree said Barrett would be back with the squad next week after spending two and a half weeks on his honeymoon.

‘‘Beauden will be back in next week, but we won’t be rushing

‘‘Beauden will be back in next week, but we won’t be rushing him back.

John Plumtree

him back. He’s got a process around his contact, so we’ll make a call on that when we get home.’’

It will likely fall to Fletcher Smith to once again start, with Garden-Bachop on the bench.

Smith had an up-and-down Hurricanes debut.

His first touch was to fumble a catch into touch on his own 22, while the remainder of his 50 or so minutes was largely spent defending as the Waratahs enjoyed more possession in the first half.

‘‘He had some good parts and some not so good parts,’’ Plumtree said.

‘‘It was a big game for him, his first start in a new jersey, and he’ll just get better and better as his confidence grows.

‘‘We didn’t get a lot of good gain line for him, but I thought he defended pretty well. It’s just the start for him.’’