Crusaders face another anxious wait over Will Jordan's pesky calf injury

Will Jordan returned from a calf injury-enforced seven-week stint on the sidelines last night in Christchurch, but didn’t come through his return fully unscathed.

The fullback left the field in the 71st minute of the Crusaders’ dramatic 36-32 win over the Chiefs, with a potential re-aggravation of the calf injury being assessed by the team’s medical staff.

Head coach Rob Penney said it was “yet to be determined” what the extent of any potential injury was at the post-game press conference.

“There was potentially a little thing there going on again, but we’ll have to wait and see,” the coach said. “It’ll be what it’ll be.

“We won’t be the only group to have injuries to key men. Will’s so influential for us. We’ve got our fingers and toes, and everything else crossed that the outcome for Will this week is really positive. He’s such a great professional; he will do everything he can to be right. He loves this group and wants to play for them, and let’s hope that’s the case.”

The Crusaders will host the No. 1 seed Hurricanes next week, with a fourth-straight sell-out crowd likely as the team looks to earn themselves a home qualifying final the following week.

The win over the Chiefs didn’t officially secure the Crusaders a place in the playoffs, but the Waratahs losing to the Brumbies in Friday night’s second game did. They are now two competition points behind the Blues, who finish their season in Hamilton against the Chiefs next week.

Penney says the team’s belief has “never been far away” and the recent results have the defending champions feeling they are gathering momentum at the right end of the season.

Asessing his side’s performance against the Chiefs, the coach said that “after two minutes, we knew they were here to play.” Penney was pleased with the team’s composure, crediting his leaders for their “outstanding” work, and the young players for not getting too rattled.

Captain David Havili delivered some big moments down the stretch, including a 50/22 kicked from within his own 22m zone, before collecting an offload from Leicester Fainga’anuku to score the game-winning try under the posts.

“It was a beauty, wasn’t it? In a crucial time,” Penney said of Havili’s kick. “He held up (Luke Jacobson) earlier, after he breached the line, and single-handedly got him off the deck. That was crucial as well. To then dot down under the bar, that was a wonderful occasion for our skip.”

The coach’s praise continued for Fainga’anuku, who he said came through in “so many moments”, while fellow loose forwards Ethan Blackadder and Christian Lio-Willie were described as the “heart and soul” of the team and “outstanding”, respectively. Reserve flanker Dominic Gardiner earned praise for his energy off the bench.

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What Penney wasn’t so pleased about was the decision to go for a penalty goal on the cusp of full-time, with Taha Kemara’s attempt falling short and giving the Chiefs one last chance on attack.