Richie McCaw is close to returning to the New Zealand rugby team after being missed by his teammates a lot, accoring to the Free Rugby Bet website. McCaw has been running on his foot for the last two weeks but Monday was the first time that he ran with the rest of the team.

Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder will not rush McCaw back into rugby and has said that his captain would not face the Bulls this weekend but he could feature in the ninth round match against the Chiefs.

The Crusaders have definitely lost lock Sam Whitelock for this week and the next two months as he needs surgery to an ankle fracture that he sustained in London.

A bigger concern for the Crusaders though is that playmaker Dan Carter injured his hamstring against the Sharks and is in doubt for this week although the Crusaders reported that his hamstring was responding well to treatment.