Scott Barrett’s return to the Crusaders from his non-playing sabbatical has been complicated by a couple of injury niggles.
Barrett, the All Blacks captain who was due to return for the defending champions after next weekend’s bye, may have to bide his time a little longer, according to Crusaders head coach Rob Penney today.
The 32-year-old had surgery on troublesome ankle and Achilles issues in December before a break designed to freshen him up ahead of next year’s World Cup in Australia.
But, as his training intensity increases, so have other issues.
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Asked today ahead of the Crusaders' crunch match against the Blues at Christchurch’s new stadium on Friday whether Barrett would return as hinted for the final two round-robin matches of the season, Penney said: “Probably not – again, we’re taking that one week at a time but he’s just struggling to get to where he wants to be as he gets his body right.
“I talked about it about a month ago… as his intensity ramps up was his body going to be able cope with that and it just has got a couple of squeaky moments that he needs to work his way through, so we’ll see when he’s back.”
Queried on whether the issues were related to his surgery, Penney said: “No, he’s got through that – it’s other parts.”
Before the Anzac Weekend “super round”, which opened Christchurch’s One NZ Te Kaha facility, Penney said of Barrett: “He’s looking in great shape, and it’s awesome that he’s had that period off to get his body right and freshen his mind.
“He looks highly engaged and his training intensity will lift over the next week or so and we’ll just see how his body reacts.
“He’s not far away.”
It may be a coincidence, but Barrett has been less visible to the media recently.
The Crusaders, currently fifth on the table, could do with Barrett’s quality and experience for the finish of what has been a less than convincing campaign.
As they were in 2024, when they finished outside the playoffs, the Crusaders have lacked consistency this year and their defence too easily breached.
After an important “super round” victory over the Waratahs in their first match at Te Kaha, they suffered another setback in Wellington last weekend when losing 38-31 to the Hurricanes.
They play their final three matches at their new stadium, with the Chiefs and Hurricanes to come after the bye.
Apart from the immediate issue of Barrett’s return, there remains uncertainty over whether new All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie will retain him as captain, with Ardie Savea, who plays under Rennie at Kobe in Japan, the favourite to take the honour.
In an interview in March, Barrett said he had not been informed of Rennie’s plans.
“No, nothing yet,” Barrett said. “I think he’s still working through his coaching team and management from what I understand. I’ll sort of wait for that conversation, I guess, and until then I think I’ll just keep chipping away with my rehab and pre-season and look forward to getting back and playing some rugby soon.
“Trying to get that right – or better than what it has been in the last couple of years. That’s probably the number one priority at the moment for me and looking to get back for the Crusaders the tail end of the season.”
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