Scott Barrett's sabbatical has unravelled badly, with the All Blacks captain facing five months on the sideline after a back injury sustained on his return to training requires surgery. The Crusaders lock had stepped away from the majority of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season to address ankle and Achilles issues, but picked up the back complaint coming back into camp.
Barrett will miss the inaugural Nations Championship — where New Zealand face France, Italy and Ireland — as well as the full four-Test tour of South Africa against the Springboks. Crusaders head coach Rob Penney confirmed surgery is imminent. "He's tried every non-invasive trick you could do to get right and it just hasn't come off, so he'll be in the operating theatre by the end of the week," Penney said.
The injury forces new All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie — who replaced Scott Robertson in the role — to name a new captain for the entire upcoming international programme. Barrett will also play no part in the Crusaders' Super Rugby run-in, with Penney having previously held hope the 32-year-old could factor in the latter stages of the competition.
The Crusaders are managing a broader injury crisis. Will Jordan has reaggravated a calf problem that will sideline him for several weeks, casting doubt over his availability for the Nations Championship, which kicks off just two weeks after the Super Rugby final. Prop Tamaiti Williams is also out with discitis — a spinal disc infection — with no return date set.
"Losing those men is without question disappointing, but it's allowed a whole other group to step up and take a leadership role," Penney said.