Mataele picks up knee injury after win against Hurricanes

Manasa Mataele produced an offload for the ages against the Hurricanes last night but it could be the last magical moment he produces this year after picking up what appeared to be a serious knee injury.

After bumping off Gareth Evans, Mataele with his face in the dirt managed to stay out of touch and send off an offload to Richie Mo’unga.

However, the Fijian-born wing's memorable night ended in the second half after he went down with a knee injury and the fact he couldn't walk off the field didn't fill Crusaders coach Scott Robertson with confidence he would be back anytime soon.

It's a bitter blow for Mataele, who had more than looked the part on the right‑wing, the position his uncle, Seta Tamanivalu occupied the past two seasons for Crusaders.

Mataele scored two tries in last week's season opener against the Blues and was having a field day against the Hurricanes before he went down.

In other results, the Brumbies hammered the Chiefs 54‑17, the Sharks beat the Blues 26-7, Stormers beat the Lions 19-17 and the Waratahs defeated the Sunwolves 31-30 and the Jaguares beat the Bulls 27-12.

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