Rugby: Crusaders give surprise call-up to No10 Bryn Gatland; NZ Herald

Bryn Gatland, the 21-year-old first-five who moved from Waikato to North Harbour for more game time and helped his new team win a championship with a nerveless penalty in the final minute against Otago last year, has been signed as temporary injury cover by the Crusaders.

It is understood that the Crusaders have been searching for a player to cover No10 since Richie Mo'unga was ruled out for up to eight weeks with a broken hand suffered during his team's round one victory over the Brumbies in Christchurch.

Tim Bateman, who has returned to the Crusaders after stints at the Hurricanes and in Japan, was signed during the off season as a midfielder or first-five but injured his back during the Brisbane Global 10s tournament.

So while Mitchell Hunt and Marty McKenzie did well at first-five in the Crusaders' spectacular 30-27 come-from-behind victory over the Highlanders, the franchise needed additional cover and Gatland, the son of former All Black and current British and Irish Lions coach Warren, has received the call-up.

Gatland the younger, a mature, steady player with a big clearing kick and a right foot which is extremely accurate off the tee, was seen as unlucky to miss out on a Super Rugby contract this year.

He played for the Blues Development team against their Chiefs counterparts at Waikato Stadium at the weekend and has now been given the opportunity to take his game to the next level.

Gatland is unlikely to be in the frame for the Crusaders when they play the British and Irish Lions in Christchurch on June 10, but should he still be in the mix then the media spotlight, particularly from the travelling British pack, would be considerable.

His call-up comes following the return of one-test All Black Lelia Masaga to the Chiefs as injury cover as the high intensity of the competition - particularly in the New Zealand derby matches - takes its toll.

The latest high-profile player to be ruled out is Highlanders and All Blacks loose forward Liam Squire, who injured a knee during the Crusaders match in Dunedin but played on and has now been sidelined for up to six weeks.

The injury continues a theme among the Highlanders loose forwards and will rule Squire out of the match against the Blues at Eden Park on Saturday, but the southerners could yet be boosted by the return from concussion of fullback Ben Smith.

Squire, who was noticeably fired-up on defence early against the Crusaders, impressed his coaches with his toughness in staying on for the remainder of the match, and there is no doubt his absence will affect the Highlanders pack against the Blues.

"It's huge," assistant coach Scott McLeod said of the injury blow. "We felt he had an outstanding night and really motivated a lot of our players. He did a lot of damage, but in saying that, we've got other players who will step into that void and hopefully bring that same intensity."

The Highlanders are already without loose forwards James Lentjies (dislocated elbow), Dan Pryor (knee) and Shane Christie (illness), but may welcome back No8 Luke Whitelock from a shoulder injury for the match against the Blues on Saturday night.

Tasman flanker Christie, a Highlanders co-captain last year, has been suffering from an undiagnosed illness which has ruled him out of pre-season and his team's first two matches.

- NZ Herald

 As ABF said on another thread Saders have been hit hard by injuries. Sounds a bit desperate to bring in Gatland. Landers have also been hit hard.

 yeah, JW, but there's no other option,... if Hunt or Mckenzie get injured there's no ,other flyhalf in the team,... I thought Bateman's injury was a minor one but seems I was wrong

landers have been hit very hard,... apart from Ben Smith, their most important player, they have 5 loosies injured,... is always a huge problem when so many players playing in a certain position get injured,... not the best way to face the team's delicate situation,... they need to win their next game against Blues

 Blues could do ok against a wee kend Landers team. I never like to see injuries play such a role in a game but this may be this case this week.

 Mitch Hunt plays hero for the CrusadersNZ herald

If performing two miracles is enough to earn sainthood in Catholicism, Scott Robertson and the Crusaders should be booking their trip to the Vatican.

Having last week stunned the Highlanders by scoring three tries in the final 15 minutes, the Crusaders tonight staged a second incredible comeback to shock the Reds in Brisbane.

Robertson's men were second-best for much of the match and were trailing 20-7 before finally sparking to life in the final quarter, with Bryn Hall's double setting up a game-winning penalty by Mitch Hunt after time had expired.

The improbable victory maintained the Crusaders' unbeaten start to the season but even the most one-eyed Cantabrian will concede that their side were fortunate to have established such a record.

They could have easily suffered back-to-back defeats in the last fortnight, with the Highlanders often their own worst enemy last week and the Reds unlucky to be leading by only 13 heading into halftime tonight.

After romping to victory by an average of 32.8 points in their last four encounters with the Reds, the Crusaders found themselves firmly on the back foot for the first 40 minutes.

They gave away silly penalties at inopportune times, committed far too many turnovers to establish any continuity and were seriously stretched on defence.

And, worst of all, they lost two of their best in the first 20 minutes, with Israel Dagg forced off clutching his knee and Seta Tamanivalu following a short time later with what appeared a hamstring injury.

The departure of that pair - along with the long-term absence of first five Richie Mo'unga - left the Crusaders worryingly short of game-breakers and, with the Reds' own key men firing, the home side had their way with the visitors.

The strength of Samu Kerevi was the chief factor in establishing that ascendancy, with the centre scoring his side's first and setting up the second, but the Reds bookended the first half in costly fashion by butchering a couple of potential tries.

The Crusaders' only points, meanwhile, arrived courtesy of a friendly bounce that led to Mitchell Drummond's try, an inadequacy that initially continued in the second spell.

But, having sufficiently increased their degree of difficulty when Jordan Taufua was sin-binned for an attempted punch, the Crusaders decided to flick the switch and win the match.

First, Hall finished off his side's best attacking raid of the game, then the halfback showed forced the ball at the base of the post to pull his side within one, setting the stage for Hunt to play hero.

Reds 20 (S. Kerevi, E. Nabuli tries; Q. Cooper 2 pens, 2 cons)
Crusaders 22 (M. Drummond, B. Hall 2 tries; M. Hunt 2 cons, pen)
Halftime: 20-7

- NZ Herald

Comment: congrats to the Saders on a well fought win that showed grit, they were down by 8 point with one man in the bin and 5 mins to go and they pulled out a victory.  Fantastic!

Any word on Tamanivalu's injury?

 No word yet, same for MS, they expect to announce something on Tuesday or Wednesday.

JW, I did read this article where they indicated that Mil-Skud (foot), Dagg (knee), Sopoaga (hamstring) and Naholo (hamstring) are all almost certainly out of this weekend's games.
Tamanivalu also has a hamstring injury but - unlike the others - I couldn't find any mention of him definitely missing next weekend.
Worryingly, Mil-Skud is apparently in a moon boot which usually indicates months rather than weeks. He must be a doubt for the Lions tests, not just a few weeks of Super Rugby.