The Crusaders would have welcomed back franchise great Owen Franks with open arms if they had space on their 2022 roster.
Franks will instead play for the Hurricanes next year, a done deal the Wellington-based franchise is set to confirm in the coming days.
Crusaders coach Scott Robertson confirmed they’d had discussions with the 33-year-old tighthead prop, who left the team for English side Northampton after the 2019 final against the Jaguares.
“We went through the process, [would have] loved to obviously come home first. Just with our contracting. He still had a year on his contract in Northampton, so we weren’t expecting it at all. We had a full roster,” he said.
“If we had a bit of space, we’d have loved to have Owie back, he has been great to us for a long period of time. But professional sport and timing didn’t work.”
Motueka-born Franks, a Christchurch Boys’ High School old boy, played 150 games for the Crusaders between 2009-2019.