Taking several lessons from Saturday's warm-up loss to the Hurricanes, the Crusaders have switched their attention to the more important return game - their first in Super Rugby Pacific for 2022.

 

Due to the Covid-19 bubble, the New Zealand teams are in at Queenstown, the two sides will travel to Dunedin on Saturday to play the game at Forsyth Barr Stadium.

 

All Blacks wing Sevu Reece said it was good now that pre-season activities were complete, and they could look ahead to the start of Super Rugby at the weekend.

 

"It's a big weekend for our boys. I know the boys who are going to play this weekend are going to take the opportunities with two hands and do the jersey proud," he said.

 

While they wouldn't have the chance to play at home in Christchurch, Reece said it was a case of the way the world was at the moment with Covid-19. They were just happy to be playing rugby.

 

"The boys are excited to be playing under the roof. It's always exciting with dry seeds and it is going to be fast and exciting rugby to watch," he said.

 

The impact of the Covid outbreak among the Moana Pasifika side had not been a distraction, although he said he had reached out to a couple of players he knew to see how they were doing. He also hoped those who had Covid could recover quickly.

 

 

The Crusaders would be looking to do everything right to ensure they could play rugby.

 

Reece said having been through quarantine at the end of the northern tour, it was his second time in the bubble-type situation. Knowing what was involved, it was a case of getting around some of the younger players, and those who hadn't done it before and making sure everything was all right for them.

 

"For me, it's still hard leaving my two girls back at home but we're here, we're tight and building some great connections off the field which is exciting," he said.

 

The bubble had extra significance for Reece who celebrated his 25th birthday on Sunday. Celebrations were standard under the circumstances – watching movies, playing some PlayStation, and FaceTiming his daughter at home.