“I’m not across the detail, but we wouldn’t expect him to be available next week, but we’ll just see what unfolds,” Penney says.
He says Chay Fihaki and Johnny McNicholl, who returned to action via club rugby this weekend after overcoming a hamstring injury, are options to fill the void.
The defeat sees the Crusaders drop to third in the standings, four points behind the Chiefs, while the Brumbies’ 33-14 win over the Western Force has boosted them up to second.
The only caveat is that the Crusaders have three games remaining, while the Brumbies and Chiefs have two. The Brumbies host the Crusaders in the final round of the regular season.
But Penney says the Crusaders have plenty to focus on after losing to the Chiefs for the second time this season and in a similar fashion.
Both times the Crusaders started strongly, only for the Chiefs to secure victory on the back of a dominant second half. Saturday’s clash saw the Chiefs score 32 unanswered points after trailing 19-3 late in the first half.
“I thought the Chiefs deserved their victory,” said Penney. “They dominated large facets of the game and put us under a bit of pressure.
“Our response now is the critical piece, [we were] taught a bit of a lesson and how we respond to that now is going to be critical.
“I don’t necessarily think they’ve got a psychological advantage and we haven’t even contemplated what beyond next week looks like, because we’ve got a massive battle against the Waratahs to ensure that we establish ourselves, in some semblance, at the top and we’re still masters of our own destiny in that regard.”
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.
