NZ latest – Keats cops ban
9 May 2011
Keo.co.za brings you news from New Zealand’s Super Rugby franchises.
Keats cops ban – Hurricanes scrumhalf Tyson Keats has been banned for four weeks after being cited for a spear tackle in Friday’s clash against the Blues.
Keats was yellow carded immediately after he spear tackled opposite number Alby Mathewson and cited after the game. At a disciplinary hearing on Monday, Sanzar judicial officer Nick Davidson said that while the tackle was not premeditated, it was reckless and dangerous.
Battered Crusaders send injury SOS – Israel Dagg (hamstring), Sean Maitland (foot), Kahn Foutali’i (knee) and Adam Whitelock (chest) have all returned to New Zealand and will not face the Cheetahs.
The Crusaders’ quartet were all injured in Saturday’s game against the Stormers. The management has already sent for reinforcements, and Ryan Crotty, Steve Alfeld, Tom Taylor and Brent Ward will be joining the squad.
Blues rest Kaino – All Blacks flank Jerome Kaino won’t be risked for the Blues’ big clash with the Reds this week. Coach Pat Lam said that while Kaino could complete Friday’s game, he needs to be managed carefully at this stage of the competition.
Highlanders hit by injury – Wings James Paterson (pectoral muscle) and Siale Piutau (adductor muscle) have suffered season-ending injuries while Adam Thomson (ribs) will be out for a month.
The Highlanders are already missing a host of frontline players, and this triple blow will hamper their play-off prospects. They are especially thin in the outside backs and coach Jamie Joseph is yet to confirm the replacements.
6 Comments
9 May 2011, 09:28 am
hope chEEtahs do saffa teams a favour!
9 May 2011, 09:37 am
It seems clear to me that the Stormers weren’t trying to win they were rather trying to give the crusaders as many flat tyres as possible… So YAY for the Stormers and their success!!!
9 May 2011, 14:12 pm
I see 63% of the bloggers still feel the Stormers will win the conference over the Sharks.
9 May 2011, 14:21 pm
crusaders racking up the frequent flier miles.
9 May 2011, 14:27 pm
Crusaders victory marred by long injury list
TONY SMITH
Last updated 05:00 09/05/2011
Fullback Israel Dagg could be out for up to four weeks and three other injured team-mates also face lengthy spells on the sidelines as the Crusaders count the cost of their courageous victory over the Stormers.
Dagg, wing Sean Maitland, outside back reserve Adam Whitelock and halfback Kahn Fotuali’i return home tonight after limping off in the first half of the 20-14 win in Cape Town yesterday morning.
Flanker Matt Todd was forced to play on the wing as the Crusaders ran out of backline reserves, leaving coach Todd Blackadder to reflect: “You couldn’t write that script with so many injuries [happening] so quickly, but the guys who went out there did the job.”
Former All Blacks prop Wyatt Crockett scored two tries as the Crusaders avenged last year’s 42-14 shellacking at Newlands and leapfrogged the Stormers into third place on the Super 15 table with 44 points – behind the Blues on 47 and the Reds on 45.
However, the gloss was taken off by the lengthening injury list, with 10 top-line players unavailable.
Crusaders manager Tony Thorpe said last night that Dagg, who tore the quadricep muscle in his right thigh, would likely be missing “for around the four-week mark”.
Thorpe said Maitland, who has a “mid-foot” injury, would have a scan on his return home after straining the medial ligament in his right knee.
Medical staff first feared Whitelock had dislocated his shoulder. However, he has damaged his pectoral muscle and will also face further tests in Christchurch.
None of the quartet “will be returning within the next couple of weeks” and could be out for the Crusaders’ game against the Chiefs in Napier on May 21 and the crucial visit to the Queensland Reds in Brisbane on May 29, Thorpe said.
The Crusaders then have a bye and Thorpe “would like to think three out of the four may be [back] when it comes to those last two games” in the regular season against the Blues in Timaru on June 11 and the Hurricanes in Wellington on June 18 “so we can get ourselves ready for the playoffs, if we get into that position”.
While the players quietly celebrated one of their finest hours, Thorpe and the coaching staff were busy recruiting reinforcements for Sunday’s game against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein. Midfielders Ryan Crotty and Tom Taylor, Tasman Makos halfback Steve Alfeld and former Crusaders and Blues fullback Brent Ward barely had time to pack before leaving for Sydney yesterday afternoon. They will arrive in Cape Town tonight and start training tomorrow.
Ad Feedback
Crotty is a Crusaders squad member, Taylor and Alfeld are part of the wider training group while Thorpe has had to arrange a short-term New Zealand Rugby Union contract for Ward, who has returned to New Zealand after a stint overseas.
Alfeld is the Crusaders’ fourth-choice halfback, with squad member Willi Heinz stepping up yesterday for Fotuali’i, who had been deputising for injured All Black Andy Ellis.
Crotty said he “got a text from [backs coach] Daryl Gibson at 7.30″ yesterday morning, telling him to pack his bags for South Africa.
Taylor – a Canterbury ITM Cup squad member and son of 1987 World Cup All Black Warwick Taylor – learnt of his callup at 10am after “a bit of a late night” at a Burnside clubmate’s 21st birthday party. Both men were determined to make the most of any opportunity.
The Cape Town casualties join six frontline All Blacks on the sideline.
Ellis and locks Brad Thorn and Sam Whitelock did not tour, while prop Ben Franks (lower back), skipper Richie McCaw (concussion) were hurt in Perth against the Western Force. First five-eighths Dan Carter has not played for five weeks with a hamstring problem.
Thorpe said McCaw and Carter would have fitness tests in Cape Town this week, “which will hopefully put them in the picture for selection” against the Cheetahs.
Ellis, who has a broken thumb, is expected to be out for up to four more weeks.
With more casualties than a season of Shortland Street, little wonder Blackadder was hailing the Crusaders’ win as one of the “gutsiest” in the seven-time champions’ storied Super rugby history. His team made 170 tackles in the game.
“It would have been disappointing to have lost this game because I felt we created so many opportunities.”
- The Press
9 May 2011, 23:41 pm
Nothing in that tackle by Keats, deserved 1-2 weeks but wasnt worth 4. Looked like 2 cats falling from a wall.
No complaints from Keats, took it like a man. Unlike the Justice4′reedom fighters.
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.