Rugby: Hamstring tear ends Ranger's Super 15 campaign

Rene Ranger tore a hamstring on Saturday. Photo / Getty Images

Blues winger Rene Ranger has been ruled out of the rest of the Super 15 season by a hamstring tear.

The three-test All Black was helped from the field in Saturday night's 23-16 defeat to the Crusaders in Timaru. Medical tests yesterday revealed a grade-two tear, expected to keep him out of the game for four weeks.

Ranger scored an impressive solo try in
the Blues' best performance in a four-match losing stretch. Nonetheless, defeat has cost the Blues their Super 15 conference lead and automatic playoff hosting rights.

Crucially they lost their connection at several phases which cost them soft tries and ultimately the contest.

What-ifs would have been bouncing through the players' and coaches' minds yesterday on their return journey to Auckland.

Two scrum and ruck botch-ups particularly hurt the Blues.

They lacked communication at the back of those collisions and conceded two of the three Crusaders' tries.

The match-clincher was a piece of Daniel Carter savvy mixed with Zac Guildford's speedy composure on a night when the winger scored twice in his push for a World Cup place.

Carter darted at the Blues' line, suggesting he was going to run or offload; the defence held and the five-eighths propped and chip-kicked to the left wing for Guildford's retrieve and run to the line.

It was a piece of genius from both players to seal a grinding win in sapping underfoot conditions on Saturday.

"It wasn't pretty. We ground it out and that's what you've got to do at this time of the year," victorious skipper Kieran Read said.

It's a message the Blues understand, but have not been able to act upon as they continued to tread water on the points table.

Their finals saviour should come with a reverse in results against the Highlanders at Eden Park on Friday, but you wonder how much damage this losing streak has done.

"We had a few mental lapses, but we left nothing out there," Keven Mealamu said of his side's effort.

With opposing strike players Sonny Bill Williams and Ranger off injured inside the first quarter, the sides battled with rearranged combinations, the conditions and the high stakes.

The Crusaders led 13-11 at the break and kept their lead until the end against a stern Blues challenge. They could rue Luke McAlister shelling the pass for a try and the lead at three-quarter time, but the Crusaders had tries to George Whitelock and Tom Marshall rubbed out while Robbie Fruean also messed up two more.

Those mistakes kept the match tight and tense for the 12,000 who crammed into the Timaru stadium on a crisp winter evening.

The Blues switched McAlister to fullback for much of the match and began with Chris Lowrey at No 8 after Peter Saili's late injury withdrawal.

Stephen Brett bookended his return with botched kicks, but held firm through the rest of the match while new loosehead Charlie Faumuina showed out powerfully against test hardman Owen Franks.

Returning Crusaders halfback Andy Ellis had pivotal parts in several telling strikes to get his name back in the national selectors' books while Guildford and Joe Rokocoko had a battle royal down their flank.

Rokocoko did nothing wrong, safe under the high ball and powerful with possession, but Guildford caught the eye more with his final try and a cover tackle to snuff out Lachie Munro.

Blues coach Pat Lam will be frustrated, but at least this round his side showed more spine. "That's the best we've played in the four weeks in terms of our commitment and that's what I was after," Lam said.

Well, not quite. Victory would have made the week more comfortable and staunched the doubts and the doubters.

However, the Blues competed better than they have in the past month and a repeat on Friday should be enough to get them in front of the fading Highlanders.

The question will be how much this loss has taken out of the Blues psychologically and where they go to plug more backline injury woes.

Ranger is gone; Benson Stanley and Alby Mathewson are banged up. The workload this week needs to be light and the application intense.