Turnovers hold key for Crusaders

If the Crusaders are to unload a powerpunch against the Lions, the onus may rest on ruck scavengers such as Kieran Read and Matt Todd to perfect ‘‘the Jackal’’ turnover and give their mates licence to create chaos.

Regardless of what happens in the Super Rugby quarterfinal in Johannesburg tomorrow, the Crusaders cannot afford to harbour regrets when returning to their bunker inside the Ellis Park stadium.

You can’t say the Crusaders are marching into an ambush at the famous stadium near central Jo’burg, because they know exactly what they are in for.

This Lions side is stacked with fresh men who spent last weekend in the gym instead of playing against the Jaguares in Buenos Aires, and will be backed by a partisan crowd that demands their side vigorously rip and tear against a team forced to travel 13,000 kilometres from New Zealand, via Sydney, to Jo’burg.

Before they left for South Africa the message from coach Todd Blackadder to his crew was to fix their minds on the positives and don’t dare start moping about the 35-10 loss to the Hurricanes last weekend.

As slight as it is, the Crusaders still have a chance of winning the competition and that starts with sticking it to the Lions.

The good news is their record against this club is extremely good. They have won their last seven encounters, including the 43-37 victory, when midfielder Ryan Crotty pouched three of their six tries, at Ellis Park on April 2.

At this time of the season, no team is going to make dramatic alterations to their

game plan. They might make subtle changes, like sending ball runners towards defenders they suspect might not enjoy repeat sets of heavy traffic colliding with them, but the basic framework remains in place.

So while Blackadder and captain Read could try to create space around Lions playmaker Elton Jantjies by directing the big artillery down his alley, they won’t go attacking from all points of the park.

Then there is the task of breaking-up the Lions’ defensive screen, something the Crusaders will hope to do by executing heists at the rucks.