Leicester Fainga'anuku will miss the All Blacks' Nations Championship campaign and is a doubt for the first three Tests of the Greatest Rivalry series in South Africa after sustaining a fibula fracture and high ankle sprain during the Crusaders' 49-12 Super Rugby Pacific semi-final loss to the Chiefs on June 12.
The 26-year-old was withdrawn before half-time, with Dominic Gardiner replacing him. The Crusaders have confirmed he does not require surgery, with a 10-12 week return-to-play timeline, which rules him out of Tests against France, Italy and Ireland under Dave Rennie and places the opening Springbok fixtures firmly in doubt.
The injury derails what had been one of the more intriguing experiments in world rugby this season. Fainga'anuku, primarily a wing or centre, began transitioning into the forwards during his time at Toulon before the Crusaders pushed it further, starting him at openside flanker from late April. He made five consecutive appearances at No. 7, including both playoff matches against the Blues and Chiefs, and was on course to carry that experiment into the Test arena.
Stephen Donald, speaking on the Aftermatch with Kirst and Beav last month, had argued Fainga'anuku's hybrid value lay not in starting at flanker for the All Blacks but in the bench flexibility he offered. "You can have your 5-3 split knowing full well that if you want to do something a little bit different with who you're covering on the bench with the forwards, you've got Leicester there who can cover a couple of those positions," Donald said. "Leicester gives you things no one outside Leicester can do, as far as forwards go — bar Ardie last year for Moana."
That option is now off the table for Rennie as he names his Nations Championship squad following the Super Rugby Pacific final between the Hurricanes and Chiefs.