The Crusaders have suffered a major injury setback in the wake of their scratchy Super Rugby victory over the Brumbies, with Richie Mo'unga ruled out for six to eight weeks with a broken hand.
The first five-eighth had surgery on Sunday for a fractured bone in his left hand. Mo'unga told team management it was sore after they held on for a 17-13 victory at AMI Stadium on Saturday night.
"He is recovering well and expected to require approximately six to eight weeks before returning to play," the team said in a press release on Sunday night.
It seems likely Marty McKenzie will take over from Mo'unga against the Highlanders in Dunedin on Saturday evening.
The other injury concerns are not so serious. Coach Scott Robertson is optimistic openside flanker Matt Todd, forced to withdraw from the game at late notice because he required an operation on an infected leg, will be fit to play the Highlanders, while right wing Seta Tamanivalu could be in doubt if he cannot overcome the hamstring strain that forced him to retire in the second half. Tamanivalu scored in the opening minutes agains the Brumbies and added value with his willingness to hunt for employment on attack,
As for the game, there were some good moments, mostly in the first half, and there were others that forced some jittery folks to bury their faces in cushions with fright.
Mistakes, there were more than just a few. One statistic provider had the turnover count as high as 21, which, regardless of how you assess the situation, isn't terribly flash.
Would the Crusaders get away with that against the Highlanders, even if they are going to be without their highly-respected co-captain and All Blacks fullback Ben Smith because of concussion? Probably not.
The Highlanders must be fuming, and not because Smith is going to be eliminated from this South Island derby. They appeared intent on self-destruction with the way they gave away soft tries in their 24-15 loss to the Chiefs inside the enclosed stadium, with All Blacks Aaron Smith and Waisake Naholo flinging mad passes for James Lowe to poach.
Given what we saw against the Brumbies, Robertson is eager to encourage his team to play in a similar manner to the Canterbury sides he coached over the previous four years; to play with width in an attempt to manipulate the defence, even though it comes with the risk of turnovers.
"To keep trusting ourselves and what we are doing," Robertson said when asked what his message to his team would be ahead of the Highlanders fixture.
"We just have execute a little bit better, and realise we are now up against a desperate Highlanders team. I think we played a lot like them, we created a lot. We got away with ours and they didn't with theirs.
"They were really good and probably overplayed a little bit. And the other team (the Chiefs) took their opportunities."
The Brumbies, on paper, didn't look to offer too many threats. When Tamanivalu scored his try, thanks to a snorter of a skip-pass by fullback Israel Dagg, the Crusaders went ahead 7-0 within minutes of the first whistle.
The fast start, combined with the dry paddock and warm air, acted like an intoxicating tonic that lifted their self-belief a hundred notches; there's nothing wrong with that, either, but you still have to respect an opponent that has workaholic forwards in Scott Fardy, Sam Carter and Chris Alcock, who between them made 41 tackles.
And it almost blew-up in the Crusaders' faces as the Brumbies roared back with a try to within four points and often had success attacking the left-hand side.
"We talked about holding the ball, building some pressure and getting into some rhythm and because we scored that first try, it was like it was just going to open-up and happen," Robertson reflected.
"I think we made 20-odd errors which stopped a lot of our momentum, but we will be better for it. It would be worse if we on the other end."
Photo: Photosport JOHN DAVIDSON (Richie Mo'unga, who has a broken bone in a hand, lines up a kick against the Brumbies).