Taylor-made new captain for Crusaders
A foot injury has ruined Scott Barrett’s hopes of leading the Crusaders back into active duty.
A mishap during the Crusaders’ inter-squad game in Christchurch last Saturday has forced All Blacks lock Barrett into withdraw from his side’s first outing in Super Rugby Aotearoa against the Hurricanes in Wellington tomorrow and pass the captaincy to Codie Taylor.
Barrett’s withdrawal means no members of the famous rugby family from Taranaki will be on show at the Cake Tin, with younger sibling Jordie again ruled out for the Hurricanes because of a sore shoulder.
Whether Scott Barrett’s foot problem has the potential to sideline him for a long period has yet to be clarified.
‘‘He had a scan underneath his foot, around his plantar fascia,’’ Crusaders coach Scott Robertson said on Thursday. ‘‘He hurt it in a scrum. He has been scanned as much as he can so he can to get as much information [as possible].
‘‘He will see a specialist to get a plan from there.’’
Injuries to the plantar fascia, a ligament that connects the heel to the front of the foot, can cause considerable discomfort for all players – and especially tight forwards as they dig in to exert maximum power in scrums.
If Barrett was registered with another club his absence could be considered a major issue, but the Crusaders are flush with locks with All Black veteran Sam Whitelock, whose commitments in Japan were cut short by the Covid-19 pandemic, back in Christchurch.
Whitelock will start alongside Mitchell Dunshea in the second row. Former international Luke Romano is on the bench, and Quentin Strange is recovering from what Robertson termed a ‘‘niggly injury’’.
Rather than return the leadership job to Whitelock, who led the Crusaders to title wins between 2017-19 but surrendered the captaincy this year because his original intention was to not represent the team, Robertson elected to give the coveted job to vice-captain Taylor.
‘‘He [Whitelock] will call the lineouts, and will lead in a different way from his performance,’’ Robertson said. ‘‘When he went to Japan, we planned to have Scooter [Barrett] to take over and Dave [Havili] and Codie to step up if there was an
injury. So now there’s his chance.’’
Fullback Havili, who had emergency bowel surgery in early March, has been listed in the reserves.
All Black Taylor will lead the Crusaders for the first time against a Hurricanes side seeking to fix their lineout issues and add more bite to their attack after being beaten 30-20 by the Blues last weekend. Taylor won’t be too proud to ask the 117-test lock Whitelock, who has captained the All Blacks on six occasions, for assistance if he feels the need.
‘‘With Sammy, he has captained this team for three years and I am not going to pretend he doesn’t know what he is doing,’’ Taylor said. ‘‘I am just going to take all the knowledge that he can share when we are out there on Sunday and go from there.’’
With Tom Christie recovering from a hamstring injury, Billy Harmon will start at openside flanker.