All Blacks captain Scott Barrett out of Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tour

The Crusaders forward will go under the knife to correct a troublesome issue he picked after returning to training following a non-playing sabbatical.

Barrett decided to take a break and miss the majority of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season in order to correct ankle and Achilles problems.

He intended to be back in the mix ahead of the inaugural Nations Championship, where the All Blacks will face France, Italy and Ireland.

However, the 32-year-old has been ruled out of those internationals and will now sit out the whole of the South Africa tour with New Zealand set to face the Springboks in four Tests.

Dave Rennie, who has replaced Scott Robertson as All Blacks head coach, will therefore definitely be naming a new captain for the upcoming campaign.

"He's tried every non-invasive trick you could do to get right and it just hasn't come off, so he'll be in the operating theatre by the end of the week," Crusaders boss Rob Penney said.

"He was in great shape, he had a great break, and he'd come back very excited. He's still contributing as he does really meaningfully behind the scenes, but he's as frustrated as all of us are for him.

"He's got his head around it now, I guess a pretty special trip to South Africa that he's going to miss and some other bits and pieces, but ultimately he's just got to get himself right."

As well as Barrett and the All Blacks, it is also a blow for the Crusaders, whose injuries are starting to mount at an important time of the season.

There were suggestions that if all went well the lock would be in contention for the Super Rugby run-in, but that will obviously not now happen.

Will Jordan is another key player who will miss the rest of the domestic campaign after reaggravating a calf problem, which will keep him on the sidelines for the next few weeks at least.

That will also concern Rennie with the Nations Championship beginning just two weeks after the Super Rugby final.

The Crusaders are also without another All Blacks star with prop Tamaiti Williams being ruled out because of discitis, an infection in a disc in his spine, and his return date is unknown.

"Losing those men is without question disappointing, but it's allowed a whole other group to step up and take a leadership role and put their own stamp on it, and that's what you require," Penney said.

"If we go any further into the competition post this weekend, it'll be on the back of those men really stepping up, and they're certainly capable of it."