Crusaders devise plan to couter Lions’ maul
Super rugby update
The Crusaders are wary of the threat the Lions’ driving maul could pose in Saturday’s Super Rugby final in Christchurch.
The Lions used their driving maul to great effect in last Saturday’s 44-26 semifinal win over the Waratahs in Johannesburg.
The Lions overturned a 14-0 deficit and used their driving maul as a launchpad for their resurgence.
Crusaders flank Matt Todd told New Zealand’s Stuff.co.nz website that his side will be out to thwart the Lions in that department. “It’s a real momentum changer for them not just with tries but also getting them field position when they were under the pump a little bit at the start of that game,” Todd said. Having booked a final place for a third year in a row with a 44-26 come from-behind victory over the Waratahs at Ellis Park on Saturday, Whiteley knows his side can ill-afford to start poorly again.
“We’d like to improve on that, to be honest with you,” he told Reuters.
“We were under pressure, we had to go back to the drawing board, tighten up a bit, we went to our rolling maul and our scrums and I think it worked well. That’s been our strength all season.”
Meanwhile, head coach Swys de Bruin says it was a case of his side not having any possession in the opening 10 minutes. “Honestly, go look back at the game, we never had the ball!,” he told reporters at the post-match news conference.
“We had to defend and they cleverly outsmarted us. But once we had the ball, the game changed.” Speaking ahead of Saturday night’s Super
“You have to have a plan. It is all very well having belief, it gives you the ability to get off the ground and make tackles. But you have got to go in with a plan as to how you are going to handle the Crusaders,” Mallett told SuperSport of the Lions.
“They have to take them on in the forwards. You cannot allow them to dominate. The Lions have the one pack in Super Rugby that can match the Crusaders.
“They have a guy in Malcolm Marx who is better than any of the Crusaders forwards. The Lions’ front row can match the Crusaders’ front row.”
Mallett, who was Springboks coach from 1997-2000, admitted the Crusaders were particularly strong in the forwards, though, and said the Lions would find it more difficult for their pack to impose themselves in Christchurch.
“If you look at the Lions’ strengths in the last couple of weekends, they have been very good in the scrums and they have dominated with maul tries,” he added.
“The forwards are an area which the Lions have always fallen back on when they face difficulty.”
“I don’t think the Lions are going to win it, but they will be in it for 60 minutes.”Rugby