Dalton Papali'i suffers suspected broken jaw in Blues defeat to Crusaders

Saturday, 9 May 2026

Dalton Papali'i’s Blues career could be over after suffering a suspected broken jaw in their 36-20 defeat to the Crusaders on Friday night.

The 37-test All Blacks loose forward tried to play on after sustaining the injury in the early stages of the Super Rugby Pacific fixture in Christchurch.

The Blues centurion departed in the 12th minute in what could be his final appearance before he joins French club Castres Olympique.

Blues coach Vern Cotter said the 28-year-old might have fractured his jaw, a serious injury that would likely rule him out for several months.

“He tried to stay out there. The doc said it was no good,” Cotter said from One New Zealand Stadium on Friday night.

Cotter said Papali'i was heading for an X-ray. The Blues said on Saturday it was a jaw injury, with an update to come.

“Losing Dalton hurt us,” Cotter said.

He was replaced by Anton Segner at openside flanker, but the Blues tumbled to a poor defeat when the Crusaders repelled their attack with just 13 men for a spell in the final quarter.

Reserve Crusaders winger Kurtis MacDonald was sent off for taking out Blues No 10 Stephen Perofeta in the air and the hosts also lost Jack Sexton to the sinbin, but they secured a bonus-point win.

The Blues got nothing but remained third, although they lead the Crusaders in fourth by just six points (both having played 12 matches), with tough fixtures to come against the two sides above them, the Hurricanes (home) and the Chiefs (away), before next month’s playoffs.

“We were certainly hoping for something better than that, but it was one of those evenings where it seemed we couldn’t catch a break. Also, we didn’t play particularly well,” Cotter said.

“If you put those two together, you’re defending a lot and not getting what you want.”

Cotter lamented their inaccuracy and said they were dominated physically by the red and blacks.

“We’ve got [an attack against] 13 players and throw the ball into touch,” he said.

The defending champions finish with two matches in their new home stadium against the Chiefs and the Hurricanes.

“They were almost training against us at times,” Cotter said of the Crusaders’ control. “It felt like we weren’t getting any access whatsoever.”