Havili sidelined for two months
The Crusaders didn’t get the miracle they were hoping for. Midfielder David Havili won’t feature in the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs and is likely to miss the All Blacks’ July tests due to injury.
Crusaders head coach Scott Robertson confirmed Havili (hamstring) and loose forward Cullen Grace (knee) would both miss the remainder of the Super Rugby Pacific season due to the injuries they sustained playing against the Waratahs last weekend.
Havili’s injury is expected to sideline him for about two months, while the Crusaders are awaiting final scan results on Grace’s dislocated kneecap to determine whether he will require surgery.
“Both are out for the Super campaign, unfortunately. Really disappointed for them, they’re such big contributors to our team and really important parts of it,” Robertson said.
Confirmation the pair are finished comes a couple of days after assistant coach James Marshall said a miracle would be required for two of their key players to play again this season.
It was not to be. Instead, the Crusaders’ list of players done for the year has ballooned to nine.
The group already included All Blacks props Fletcher Newell, Joe Moody and George Bower, and All Blacks wing Sevu Reece.
Grace and Havili had already spent stints on the sideline through shoulder and arm injuries respectively this season before their latest blows, with the former having gone down with a cracked collarbone in the opening minutes of the season.
Having dodged what appeared to be season-ending injury at the time, Grace was starting to hit his straps before the latest of a bunch of injuries over the years.
“We’ve got the hunt club, us loose forwards.
“We’re a tight group. We’re really disappointed for him, he plays on the edge with his body, and he’s worked so hard after shoulder operations to get himself into a test match footballing body,” Robertson said.
“He got there, and then he drops
a knee on the ground and that happens.
It’s just one of those situations, it hurts. You hurt with them. But he’s mentally tough, he’s dealt with it. He’s got a lot of processes to make sure he bounces back from it.”
As big of a blow the loss of Grace and Havili is, they have kicked on and won titles with them injured in the past.
That includes in 2020, when David Havili missed the back-end of Super Rugby Aotearoa with a Bennett’s fracture (thumb).
Jack Goodhue and Dallas McLeod are the primary midfield options to replace Havili, including against the Hurricanes in the team’s regular season finale in Wellington on Saturday night. Robertson also confirmed prop John Afoa, at this stage, would
only be available for the Hurricanes match, although they could ask for dispensation if tighthead prop Oli Jager hasn’t recovered from his leg injury (infection).
“There are obligations for us to put a team out that’s safe and players are ready. Essentially, the rule is someone who has played in New Zealand before the first of April is eligible to play for finals, and John definitely wasn’t that.”