How Crusaders took over ABs
Ryan Crotty’s return to the All Blacks No 12 jersey against Tonga raises the possibility that the All Blacks will name five Crusaders backs in their starting XV in the Rugby World Cup opener against the Springboks – as well as up to five of Scott Robertson’s pack.
For it is Crotty’s name that really leaps off the page in the All Blacks team to face Tonga in Hamilton tomorrow.
Yes, it is true that he needs game time after a recent injury but everything about his selection screams ‘opportunity’.
If he nails his audition tomorrow what are the odds he will keep the jumper and line up beside Richie Mo’unga when the big show starts, with Jack Goodhue, George Bridge and Sevu Reece on their outside?
To provide five of the All Blacks’ backline – along with Kieran Read, Joe Moody, Sam Whitelock and potentially Codie Taylor and Scott Barrett – in the All Blacks’ starting XV would be a remarkable return for the Crusaders, but who would begrudge them?
Although the gap between Super Rugby and test rugby is clear, you cannot win three titles on the bounce by accident, nor by forward power alone.
The Crusaders backline has
been consistently inventive, accurate and clever over the past three years.
To that end Crusaders assistant coach Brad Mooar, who has departed for a head coaching role in Wales, will be sorely missed.
As for Crotty, it has been a case of ‘his absence makes the heart grow fonder’ for the All Blacks this year. At times they have appeared a bit rattled, in need of a backline whisperer to calm the horses. Crotty, of course, is that man.
How much more comfortable would Mo’unga feel knowing that his Crusaders mate was outside him?
That would also pave the way for Sonny Bill Williams to resume his bench/impact role, where he can change a game like no other. Such a strategy may also dampen fears about his durability.
Of course, the All Blacks might go another way for two reasons.
First, Beauden Barrett’s selection at No 10 might be Rugby World Cup ‘plan A’ after all, with Ben Smith at fullback.
Also, Steve Hansen has noted that Anton-Lienert Brown is their ‘‘form midfielder’’ and he could hold onto the No 13 jersey against the Springboks even if Goodhue, who has a hamstring niggle, is available again.
However, have the All Blacks come so far down the ‘dual playmaker’ path to opt out of the Mo’unga-Barrett combination at the last minute? And has Goodhue suddenly lost his appeal because of a hamstring injury unluckily picked up in that Bledisloe Cup loss in Perth?
Goodhue was probably the All Blacks’ best player against the Springboks in Wellington and, if anything, his value goes up if Crotty shines against Tonga.
The other factor at play here is pressure, and the ability to handle it.
Hansen has talked about it a lot since he announced his Rugby World Cup squad. In fact, he made it the central tenet of a little speech he delivered at the squad announcement.
One way to deal with it is to pick players who have shown they can handle it, and whose familiarity with each other is key to winning tight situations.
Who has done that better than anyone in recent years? The Crusaders.
As a result, the All Blacks could well have a fair bit of red in them by the time they start their Rugby World Cup campaign.