Crockett out for six weeks

Editor

Crusaders prop Wyatt Crockett will miss the All Blacks opening Bledisloe Cup encounter due to a knee injury.

Wyatt Crockett will miss the All Blacks opening Bledisloe Cup encounter due to a knee injury, with Joe Moody replacing him in the training squad.

Crockett suffered medial ligament damage to his knee during the Crusaders' Super Rugby semi-final loss to the Chiefs on Saturday and is now set for a spell on the sidelines.

“We've left him at home. There's no point bringing him up here,” All Black coach Steve Hansen said from the team's training camp in Auckland.

“We'll reassess him over the weekend, and I'm sure that with some good work and with some nice rehab he'll be back as quick as he can be.”

Crockett's Crusaders' team-mate Joe Moody, who has just completed his first season of Super Rugby, has been called-up as cover.

“It's disappointing whenever you lose a guy that's playing well but one man's demise is another man's opportunity so, it gives us an opportunity to work with a young guy and that'll be quite exciting,” Hansen told ONE News of Moody.