The Crusaders have made the decision not to play Kieran Read against the Reds in Brisbane this Sunday as he continues to recover from concussion suffered against the Chiefs in Round 10.
Crusaders head coach Todd Blackadder said that, while Read is recovering well, the symptoms have not completely cleared so the coaches decided it would be preferable to make a call early in the week and take him out of contention for the next game.
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“We always knew that Kieran was a fifty-fifty call for this week and although he’s making good progress, we would rather not leave it to later in the week to make a decision,” the Crusaders head coach said.
“This takes the pressure off Kieran to play, and it removes a question mark for the rest of the team so that we can get on with preparing for this Reds match.
“This is by no means an indication that Kieran is not recovering as well as we’d expect, in fact he is progressing well. But he has received two knocks in the past month and we are taking no risks.
“The Super Rugby season is a long one so there will be plenty of time yet for Kieran to make the significant contribution he always does on the field,” Blackadder said.
The Crusaders team to play the Reds will be named on Thursday.