Clark Laidlaw sweating injury concerns after ‘pleasing’ top spot finish

Both Du’Plessis Kirifi and Devan Flanders left the field with minor injuries, with the latter nursing a nasty head injury after a clash with Daniel Lienert-Brown.

“Well, Devan [Flanders], obviously came off with a niggle, Du’Plessis had a little niggle, Ngane Punivai had a little niggle, so there’s plenty going on just around the bodies, but I don’t feel any of them are terminal around the season,” Laidlaw said.

2026 to date has been a success for the Wellington-based franchise, confirming 1st place with one round to spare before the playoffs commence.

Laidlaw’s side will have home advantage the whole way through the competition if they take care of business week-by-week, holding an advantage over teams that may have to travel for knockout fixtures.

“Yeah, we’re delighted, all the teams are chasing that top spot. We know what it gives us around a second chance if you needed it, but more importantly if you can win, then you play your games at home,” Laidlaw said.

“So the consistency the men have showed, through the whole season, in particular through this block of games, is really pleasing.

“And yeah, we will have a quiet beer tonight, just to celebrate that, and then guess we get back on the horse in six days time and play again.”

Laidlaw admits next week will be a balancing act with selections, ensuring they don’t rush into any important decisions that could impact their championship aspirations.

“I think there’ll be a balance between some guys needing rugby and some guys need a break, people were saying we were resting guys this week, most of the players couldn’t have played this week that weren’t playing, so we just need to reassess that.

“We’ve obviously picked up a couple of nicks tonight too, and dust ourselves off and say take a breath and no rush into those selections, just let the bodies settle the next 48 hours, and we’ll pick a team that can go down and play the Crusaders well, but we’ve definitely got an eye to the week after, for sure.”