Crusaders favourites
Robertson’s team stepped up in atrocious weather as first title in nine years beckons
After a state of emergency was declared in a waterlogged Christchurch, coach Scott Robertson called his Crusaders team into a meeting four hours before their quarter-final against the Highlanders and briefed his forwards on how they could lead their team to the safety of a victory and a semifinal place.
His starting pack, which included seven All Blacks, plus two on the reserves bench in Wyatt Crockett and Luke Romano, wouldn’t have needed too many instructions.
“It was a case of ‘here we go’,” Robertson said after his team’s 17-0 victory at AMI Stadium.
Already keen on righting the perceived wrongs of their defeat to the Hurricanes in Wellington a week earlier, which deprived them of a chance to finish top of the table and the automatic right to hold a home final, his forwards would have relished the opportunity 48 hours of rain in the city had given them.
In the miserable wet and cold conditions, last night was not the time for running rugby at which the Highlanders have become specialists. It was a night for dead-eyed efficiency at the set piece and breakdown, of knocking men off their feet, and getting up and doing it again, and Robertson’s men delivered.
Given the quality up front at Robertson’s disposal, including captain and lock Sam Whitelock, the All Blacks starting front row of Owen Franks, Codie Taylor and Joe Moody, plus national team skipper Kieran Read, it was probably no surprise that the Crusaders took a grip on the game and never relented.
But the Crusaders have had such personnel in their line-up for years now and, for whatever reason, have not won a title since 2008. They must be favourites to do so now.
They have the luxury of staying home while their semifinal opponents the Chiefs travel to South Africa and back and even if the Lions beat the Hurricanes in Johannesburg in the other semifinal, the Crusaders appear to have the self belief and ability to win at Ellis Park.
There is little doubt that Robertson and his fellow coaches would have preferred to face the Stormers next Saturday at AMI Stadium rather than the Chiefs. The Crusaders put more than 50 points on the men from Cape Town at home in round nine and while they edged the Chiefs in Suva in May, they know the quality Dave Rennie’s team possess.
“Either is worthy of a semifinal,” Robertson said when asked whether he would prefer to play the Stormers or Chiefs. “I can’t answer that question, sorry.” He added, to laughter: “Stormers . . . the Chiefs are a good side.”
Earlier Robertson had spoken of the platform his forwards had laid, how the frustration at losing to the Hurricanes had driven the Crusaders in the build-up, and how they must take that intensity to a new level this week.
“They have fronted up all year but just . . . lineout time and scrum time was pretty impressive and defensively, it’s the best we’ve been all year,” Robertson said. “Luke Whitelock [the Canterbury captain] — I’m pretty close with him — he’ll be gutted because he runs their lineout. To take those critical throws off them and get those mauls going put a lot of pressure on them to get their flow.
“The task is how do we go again or perhaps even more so?”
For Highlanders coach Tony Brown, the defeat was a disappointing way for his tenure to end. Brown is off to Japan to assist Jamie Joseph with the national side and while he paid credit to the Crusaders pack and the defensive effort of the home side, he was disappointed with referee Angus Gardner’s decision to yellow card flanker Liam Squire for a high tackle on Richie Mo’unga.
“[It was] pretty weak — definitely not a yellow card,” Brown said. “If they’re giving yellow cards for that, it makes it pretty hard to play the game. He didn’t hit him high and didn’t hurt him . . . he hit him in the shoulder and there was no real intent.”