Moody boost for Crusaders
Joe Moody heard an awful sound in his knee and suspected he was in strife.
It was one of those times when the Crusaders loosehead prop wished he was wrong. He wasn’t.
As the doom merchants watched Moody hobble off in the opening minutes of the match against the Highlanders in Christchurch on July 6, they tapped their watches to signify he was entering a race against time to be fit for the Super Rugby playoffs.
They were half-right. The injury forced Moody to skip the last round-robin game against the Blues and the quarterfinal against the Sharks last weekend, but he will return to start the semi against the Hurricanes at AMI Stadium tomorrow night.
"It wasn’t very pleasant when it first happened,’’ said Moody, who replaces Tim Perry in the only change to the side that thumped the Sharks 40-10.
‘‘It [his knee] just kept giving away on me and I heard a pretty horrible crunching noise to go with it as well.’’
The good news is the All Black won’t require an operation at a later date, meaning he should be available for the Rugby Championship next month.
‘‘I chipped off a bit of cartilage in the joint and it was just floating around, getting jammed up,’’ he explained. ‘‘It was causing me a few issues – pretty painful. It has just kind of worked its way out. It’s still a little bit sore, but it’s good to go.’’
The cartilage appears to have been absorbed back into the body, negating any need for keyhole surgery: ‘‘The way things are looking, I am not going to need that.’’
Moody might feel entitled to feel he’s due some luck, making just three appearances for the Crusaders this year due to shoulder and finger injuries and a two-game suspension for sending his forearm into Waratahs’ midfielder Kurtley Beale’s head.
The return of Moody guarantees the Crusaders a starting pack bursting with seven All Blacks, with blindside flanker Jordan Taufua the only forward not to earn a test cap.
Crusaders coach Scott Robertson has had to make the difficult decision to shift the popular front rower Wyatt Crockett, who played his 200th game against the Highlanders and will finish-up at the end of the season, out of the match-day 23. Another All Black,
David Havili, Seta Tamanivalu, Jack Goodhue, Ryan Crotty, George Bridge, Richie Mo’unga, Bryn Hall, Kieran Read, Matt Todd, Jordan Taufua, Sam Whitelock (capt), Scott Barrett, Owen Franks, Codie Taylor, Joe Moody. Reserves: Andrew Makalio, Tim Perry, Michael Alaalatoa, Luke Romano, Pete Samu, Mitchell Drummond, Mitchell Hunt, Braydon Ennor. Hurricanes: Nehe MilnerSkudder, Julian Savea, Jordie Barrett, Ngani Laumape, Ben Lam, Beauden Barrett, TJ Perenara, Blade Thomson, Gareth Evans, Brad Shields (c), Sam Lousi, Michael Fatialofa, Jeff To’omagaAllen, Ricky Riccitelli, Toby Smith. Reserves: James O’Reilly, Chris Eves, Ben May, Vaea Fifita, Ardie Savea/Reed Prinsep, Jamie Booth, Ihaia West, Wes Goosen.
Crusaders:
Perry, has been named on the bench as back-up to Moody.
‘‘I almost feel a bit bad about it, taking a spot from one of them on the weekend but I guess that’s just the way footy goes,’’ Moody said.
Robertson confirmed right wing Seta Tamanivalu was fit, having recovered from a head knock against the Sharks.
Victory would guarantee the Crusaders the chance to defend their title in Christchurch, where they haven’t played a final since 2008. Yesterday 13,000 tickets had been sold, well short of capacity.
Clarity about the game plan, said Robertson, was paramount.
‘‘You have got to make sure you 100 per cent know what we are doing when we run out on Saturday night,’’ he said. ‘‘You are here for a reason, because you are a bloody good football team.’’
South African Jaco Peyper, who controlled last year’s final when the Crusaders beat the Lions 25-17 in Johannesburg, has been appointed as the referee.