Master plan behind the Crusaders’ raid on Eden Park
As the songs and celebrations rang out from the visitors’ dressing room at Eden Park long after the final whistle sounded on their crippling display, Crusaders coach Scott Robertson pulled back the curtain to offer a peep into the qualities of his sixth title in as many years.
Arriving in Auckland as underdogs for the inaugural Super Rugby Pacific final, with the locals riding a 15-match unbeaten run, the Crusaders ambushed the Blues forward pack from the outset and never let Leon Macdonald’s men recover.
It was classical, clinical Crusaders. The blueprint to target the set piece crippled the Blues to the point they lost half of their lineout ball — an astonishing 10 of 20 throws.
The scrum buckled, too, as the Crusaders unleashed young replacement props Tamaiti Williams and Fletcher Newell in the second half to dominate their All Blacks counterparts.
Crusaders captain Scott Barrett confirmed the plan to target the Blues lineout but the visitors also had great success at the breakdown, where All Blacks veteran Sam Whitelock proved a menacing presence.
“Finals footy is a game about pressure. That’s something we talked about this week if we could pressure their set piece,” Barrett said.
“The lineout we saw a few opportunities if we could get up in the air and get some easy ball we could accumulate some pressure and we did that pretty well.
“We had a clear plan. We put a lot of time into it, meeting on a day off and throwing out ideas with Quinten
Strange and Jason Ryan and we got the rewards.”
On the back of that dominant forward platform Richie Mo’unga expertly pulled the strings to add the dollop of control every championship side needs. Tactically, Mo’unga delivered a masterclass to consistently drive the Blues back in the first half and build pressure they were never able to escape.
The challenge of winning a title away from home, as the Crusaders did with their first under Robertson against the Lions at Ellis Park in 2017, fuelled the fire of a team that remain standard-bearers.
“Throughout the week we dug deep into what it takes to win a championship and a lot of the other teams that have done it and why,” Robertson explained after celebrating his side’s comfortable 21-7 victory with his infamous onfield breakdancing.
“That connected it into how hard it was going to be. There were a lot of messages from past coaches and captains that reflected that first 50 minutes.
“It’s special to win at the Garden. We talked about it. It’s hard for any
team playing the All Blacks or the Blues to win here.
“It’s a special place and we had to go to a high level and we did that.”
Robertson is notorious for developing fresh themes for the Crusaders campaigns — imagery and notions that inspires the team to maintain their mantle.
He’s previously embraced Muhammad Ali’s rumble in the jungle, and gave a snippet of the challenge he set this year’s squad at the start of the season.
“We used a metaphor for stepping up and how we would need to be better than the rest. Part of the season we weren’t but when we needed to be, we were.
“When you’re getting chased you’ve got to be hungry every year and that’s my job — to motivate the boys and find different reasons to dig deep and keep pushing yourself.
“The season the Blues had is incredible and that’s tough, I really feel for them. Leon [Macdonald] is a good mate and a great coach.”
Robertson paid tribute to Mo’unga, Cullen Grace and departing Pumas loose forward Pablo Matera who put in the classy grubber kick for Sevu Reece’s final try that sealed the result.
“Richie has so much time you thought he was going to get tackled four or five times and then his step comes out. Tactically is probably his point of difference. He missed one kick but everything out of hand — his last defensive efforts are pretty special. He’s world-class.
“Pablo playing this game was huge for us. We didn’t have too many loose forwards left with Ethan [Blackadder] out.
“We had the conversation when he rang from France and he said he wanted to come over and win a championship.
“He won one test match against the All Blacks which was a euphoric moment but he wanted to win a championship and make a better life for his family and he’s done that.”
Barrett, 28 years old and with plenty more to come, signed off with the promise the Crusaders will return to hunt more silverware.
“In the offseason, that’s when
Razor gets his beautiful mind working. I’m sure he’ll be thinking up plans and how we can get better next season.”