The Crusaders are the latest team struck by a Super Rugby hooker malaise, forcing them to call up a journeyman from Taranaki club rugby.
Laurence Corlett, 33, has joined the Crusaders ahead of Friday’s match against the competition-leading Chiefs after first-choice pair Corey Flynn and Ben Funnell were both ruled out.
Flynn strained his hamstring during the warmups for Saturday’s 23-3 home win over the Blues while Funnell suffered a knee medial ligament injury. The extent of their injuries is undetermined.
Corlett made his provincial debut for Canterbury in 2002 where he played alongside Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder, who surprised the New Plymouth-based hooker with a phone call on Sunday.
Corlett, who played one Super Rugby game for the Hurricanes in 2011, is likely to be on the reserves bench behind Codie Taylor this weekend.
All five New Zealand teams have had hooker issues to juggle this season.
Blues veteran Keven Mealamu rested for the first month of the competition and suffered a calf muscle strain on return while his deputy, James Parsons, is nursing a neck injury.
At the Chiefs, first-choice rake Mahonri Schwalger missed seven games with a knee injury.
Hurricanes pair Dane Coles (fractured eye socket) and Motu Matu’u (broken arm) are both sidelined while the Highlanders lost Braydon Mitchell to a broken collarbone in week five.