All Blacks Prop Tamaiti Williams Out for Rest of Super Rugby Season

Tamaiti Williams, the 25-year-old All Blacks loosehead prop and key player for the Canterbury Crusaders, has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season after being hospitalized with a serious spinal infection.

The Crusaders announced on Monday that Williams was diagnosed with discitis, an infection in one of the discs in his spine. The player, who has earned 26 Test caps for New Zealand, had been experiencing back pain for several weeks before undergoing scans and blood tests that led to the diagnosis. He is currently receiving intravenous antibiotics in hospital and will remain under close medical supervision until his condition stabilizes enough for discharge. While medical officials have assured him of a full recovery, the extended treatment required means he will miss the rest of the Super Rugby campaign, which concludes in mid-June.

Williams shared an update from his hospital bed, expressing disappointment but also relief at the prognosis. "I've had a sore back for a couple of weeks and had to come in for some scans and blood tests," he said. "They found an infection in my back called discitis, which means I'm going to be on antibiotics for a...