The Crusaders may have recorded a comfortable 49-8 Super Rugby Pacific quarter-final win over Fijian Drua, but their ongoing injury toll seems likely to continue their plague their title defence right until the finish-line.
Three more players limped off Orangetheory Stadium, with All Blacks Richie Mo'unga and Ethan Blackadder joining Zach Gallagher in the casualty ward, as the hosts were forced to play out the final stages with just 13 players, after exhausting their substitution allocation.
In Mo'unga's case, all fears can be allayed. The pivot confirms his departure was the result of some late cramping and fits firmly inside the 'precautionary' category.
"We were just thinking ahead, especially that late in the game," said Mo'unga. "No disrespect to the Drua boys, it was just the time of the game.
"We were really comfortable with where we were at and it was just better to be safe than sorry."
The availability of both Blackadder and Gallagher for next weekend's semi-final against the Blues seem to be of genuine concern.
Making a highly anticipated return from a calf injury, Blackadder lasted less than five minutes off the bench, before returning to the sidelines, due to what coach Scott Robertson described as a "hip strike" with teammate Quinten Strange.
Robertson still hopes the injury is merely superficial, but is sympathetic to his loosie's plight, after a 2022 campaign cut short by a shoulder injury.
"I just feel for him," he said. "It's a tough sport, but it feels a bit unfair on him."
The early prognosis on Gallagher's calf injury sounds discouraging, with Robertson admitting it "didn't look good".
Gallagher's status compounds the Crusaders' worsening situation at lock, with talismanic captain Sam Whitelock in a race against time to make at least one last appearance for his beloved franchise, before heading to France.
Robertson admits he isn't confident Whitelock will be sufficiently recovered from his "grumpy Achilles" to take the field against the Blues, although he's clinging to hope that a potential final swansong may be possible.
"We took him off [against the Hurricanes] and hoped it would recover a little bit quicker than it has, but it hasn't," he noted.
"With a six-day turnaround, probably not likely [for the semi-final] at this stage."
"It's day by day, week by week. We'll see."
The latest developments are very much on brand with a campaign that has stretched the Crusaders' playing stocks to the limit and beyond.
So far this season, the team have fielded a total of 48 players, including 14 debutants. Entering the Drua match, 13 of their contracted players were unavailable due to injury.
"You go through the what-ifs beforehand, just to make sure you're a step ahead for whatever happens, but you don't have all those permutations," Robertson added. "They just keep on going.
"There are a lot of players in that room who haven't been playing, but it's just the nature of it. Next man up."
Reflecting on the match itself, Robertson is satisfied with his team's performance across the park, particularly the fast start that essentially stifled the Drua's hope of replicating their feats at Lautoka in March, when they tipped up the defending champions in the biggest upset in Super Rugby history.
"That start created the opportunities for us to put it away early," he explained."If they'd got up and got excited then, and got their off
The team will now prepare for a blockbuster clash with their northern rivals in Friday's first semi-final, where Robertson will lock horns with old mate Leon MacDonald one final time, in a rematch of last year's final, before they unite as part of the All Blacks' post-World Cup coaching staff.
The Crusaders have prevailed in both games against the Blues this year, backing up a 34-28 win in a scintillating game-of-the-season at Eden Park with a rugged 15-3 win in May.
"At home against the Blues, it's going to be a cracker.
"We've had some great games, great moments. A little bit of history from last year will add a bit of spice to it.
"We respect them. It's going to be a hell of a match."
The Chiefs will take on the Brumbies in Hamilton in the second semi-final.
Join Newshub at 7pm Friday for live updates of the Crusaders v Blues Super Rugby Pacific semi-final
