Western Force flanker Kane Koteka will miss the rest of the Super Rugby Pacific season with a foot injury.
Koteka suffered the injury in last week’s 22-18 loss to the Blues in Perth.
The 28-year-old won the team’s best and fairest award last year, and his absence is a big blow to the Force’s hopes of landing a top-eight berth.
The Force have made two changes to the starting line-up for Saturday night’s clash with the Crusaders in Perth.
Backrower Tim Anstee has been included to start in the No 8 jersey, with Ollie Callan moving to the right flank. Winger Byron Ralston replaces Toni Pulu (hamstring).
Force coach Tim Sampson has praised his team’s resilience in the face of disappointment following a series of heartbreaking losses this season.
The Force’s four-point defeat to the ladder-leading Blues was their fifth by six points or less this year.
Sampson’s men suffered heartbreaking one-point losses to both the Rebels and Brumbies, and they went down to the Waratahs by five points. In round one, the Force conceded a late try to lose to the Brumbies by six points.
The run of close losses has seen the Force slip to ninth spot with a 2-7 record, but they are still in the hunt for a top-eight berth.
“They’re in a good space,” Sampson said of his players. “I take my hat off to them. We’ve had so many tight losses. It’s five games now that have been by [six] points or less.
