Starting with Saturday night’s clash against the Reds in Brisbane, Bridge will miss the Crusaders’ last four regular season matches of the trans-Tasman competition, and the final – should they qualify for it. The Crusaders will also be without captain Scott Barrett for the clash of the Super Rugby Aotearoa (SRA) and Super Rugby Australia champions.
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Crusaders wing George Bridge won’t play Super Rugby again until next year after his latest health setback. Scratched due to an illness ahead of last week’s game against the Brumbies, the Crusaders are hopeful he will join the team in Australia ahead of their round three game against the Waratahs in Wollongong.
A question mark remains whether two Crusaders loose forwards tour across the Tasman
A question mark remains whether two Crusaders loose forwards tour across the Tasman 19 May 2021
The Super Rugby Aotearoa champions face the Reds in Brisbane on Saturday, before meeting the Waratahs in Wollongong a week later.
Sione Havili Talitui has missed two games with concussion symptoms, while Tom Sanders is also undergoing HIA protocols after breaking his nose in the win over the Brumbies.
Assistant coach Tamati Ellison says Sanders looks a mess.
The Crusaders match day and travelling squad will be released tomorrow before they fly out.
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Richie Mo unga of the Crusaders passes the ball against the Highlanders, kicked a lot in the latter stages of the game.
OPINION: The Crusaders don’t kick the ball in the last 20 minutes of a match. They just don’t. The Crusaders keep on moving men and possession into space until the opposition runs out of breath and defenders. And then the earth stopped turning. In the final quarter of the match against the Highlanders, Richie Mo’unga kicked and kicked and kicked. Tactically, it was not a terrible idea, but it was not the plan of the Crusaders’ coaches who had talked about depth and getting to the edge. Mo’unga abandoned the plan. Too many moves had broken down and looked confused. Mo’unga was no longer sure of the game that he was trying to play, and he did not appear to be sure of the men around him.