Richie McCaw

The Crusaders have confirmed that an x-ray revealed that Richie McCaw has a broken rib.

It is believed the rib injury was sustained in the second All Blacks test against England and is likely to keep McCaw out of contention for the next 3-4 weeks; a bitter blow for the Cantabrians who are pushing for top spot on the Super Rugby table.

Crusaders head coach Todd Blackadder said that while McCaw’s presence will clearly be missed over the next few weeks, the team is fully focussed on the task at hand.

“We have three huge derby games left to go in this competition and we know that we will need to put our best foot forward every single week.”

“We never use player availability as an excuse to give less than 100 percent,” Blackadder added.

“We take pride in the depth that we have in this squad and we have confidence in our available players to do the task.”

The Crusaders currently sit third on the Super Rugby table, two points behind the Waratahs in second and four points behind the Sharks in first (but with a game in hand).

The seven-time champs finish the regular season with matches against the Hurricanes (A), Blues (H) and Highlanders (H).