Broken arm for ABs prop
One game into the season and Scott Robertson is already casting his net in search of another loosehead prop.
All Blacks and Crusaders prop Tim Perry broke an arm in the reigning champions’ 24-22 win against the Blues at Eden Park on Saturday night, leaving Joe Moody and Harry Allan as the only healthy looseheads on the roster.
Perry, who lasted just seven minutes after being injected into the NZ derby early in the second half, will visit a specialist to determine the severity of the fracture, Crusaders coach Robertson said.
‘‘He will see a specialist on Monday to have a look at the options. If it’s an operation, and how long that would take to recover, if it is,’’ he said.
Perry has had a rotten run of injuries since a ruptured Achilles tendon limited him to a single outing as a replacement in 2015. He missed the whole of the 2016 season because of a serious knee injury, and was limited to three appearances off the bench in 2017.
As far as cover options go, loosehead Isileli Tu’ungafasi trained with the Crusaders during pre-season but is sidelined with a calf strain.
Another option could be Otago prop Donald Brighouse, who impressed when called into the team as injury cover during their title run last season.
‘‘Harry [Allan] has been training well, he’s been around the team for a year or two and now is his opportunity. We’re looking for cover,’’ Robertson said.
‘‘[Brighouse] is floating around and he’s on the list. We will see what shape he is in.’’
Perry’s injury, which occurred while making a tackle, meant the Crusaders had to throw undercooked All Blacks prop Moody back into the mix moments after he had parked up his 122kg frame on the bench.
Having played zero pre-season minutes, Moody got through 73 minutes and was instrumental in the Crusaders’ scum earning a penalty try after he returned to the field.
‘‘I think he played better the second time around,’’ Robertson said. ‘‘Look, massive shift for him.
‘‘He was our players’ player-of-the-day, just because the amount of effort he put in. Pretty special performance from Joe first game back. Incredible.’’
Having escaped Auckland with a narrow win, one helped by Blues first-five Harry Plummer missing a couple of late kicks, and a couple of contentious refereeing calls, the Crusaders returned to Christchurch yesterday morning to start preparing for Saturday night’s homeopener against the Hurricanes at Christchurch Stadium.
After scratchy performances from some of his players at Eden Park, including flanker Jordan Taufua and first-five Richie Mo’unga, who missed all three of his shots at goal, Robertson expects improvement.
‘‘We will just treat it as that [uncharacteristic],’’ Robertson said. ‘‘We know they’re quality players and we’ve got a week to make sure we get the skills and mindset required to play well against a tough Hurricanes team.
‘‘We’ve got a new pitch at [Christchurch Stadium] now.The grass is down and we’ve got energy around the first game. We’re looking froward to getting back in front of our people. Last time we were there [the 2018 final against the Lions] it was a pretty special night.’’
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