Crusaders hooker Andrew Makalio leaves for Super Rugby season with neck injury

Pre-season training has only just begun and the Crusaders have already ruled out two players from the impending Super Rugby Aotearoa campaign.

Hooker Andrew Makalio has joined center Braydon Ennor (knee) on the bench with a neck injury and, unlike Ennor, he will also miss the trans-Tasman competition.

The 29-year-old, who has played 43 games for the Crusaders since 2017, was “shot in the neck” playing for Tasman at the end of last year’s NPC and requires surgery.

A date for the procedure has not yet been determined, but he is expected to join the team after surgery and make a significant contribution off the field, assistant coach Scott Hansen said.

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Bay of Plenty rake Nathan Vella, who played 33 games for Canterbury from 2016-18, has joined the reigning champions for the remainder of the year as a replacement.

Makalio’s defeat is a significant blow to the Reds and Blacks, who can no longer afford to inject the punishing runner and silky, skilled rake into the mix against ailing defenses.

Canterbury hooker Brodie McAlister will enter the season as All Black’s main backup Codie Taylor, although he has only been capped four times.

That’s where Makalio comes in.

“In terms of this year, it is quite sad that I cannot contribute on the field. But it will contribute in many other ways to our young prostitutes and the way they do their work in the park, ”said Vice-Captain David Havili.

Vella, 30, trained with the Highlanders last year and has 15 international Super Rugby games to his name: 12 with the Sunwolves and three with the Hurricanes.

Another area in which the Crusaders are light in depth experienced is fifth eighth after All Black Richie Mo’unga.

Should the 2020 Super Rugby Player of the Year fall, Brett Cameron (13 caps) and Fergus Burke (one) are the specialist substitutes, while the utility Havili proved last year that he is more than capable of fitting in. number 10 shirt.

Havili was preferred over Cameron and Burke as Mo’unga’s cover when healthy last year, as All Black Cameron made only two brief appearances from the bench at Super Rugby Aotearoa.

When asked if Cameron would be ready to play if necessary this season, Hansen said the 24-year-old had come a long way in the offseason.

“He’s having a really good preseason. He’s gone, he’s grown his kicking skill set, he’s leading really well. Our ten are competing. His job is for Richie to come back and have to compete for jersey 10.

“I think it’s like anything in life, once you have confidence and you have the flow and a little bit of rhythm, things become easier for you.

“He did some brilliant things in the [NPC] last year, he’s a guy that will continue to grow. He is only young, and we will continue to surround and support him. “

The Crusaders’ first preseason game is against the Highlanders in Temuka on February 12, before playing the Blues at Eden Park on February 20.