Crusaders comrades bring calm to midfield
In a world of uncertainties the All Blacks probably feel one thing almost guaranteed not to happen in the opening Bledisloe test is for there to be any hint of panic in their midfield.
In Ryan Crotty and Jack Goodhue, the All Blacks have two of the calmest and self-assured operators. They are rarely, if ever, distracted or troubled on the field.
Crotty has long been a steadying hand — a composed influence whose contribution has been built on his ability to do the basics relentlessly well under pressure.
It took years for his value to be fully recognised, but everyone can now see he is developing into a worldclass midfielder based on the accuracy and intensity of his game.
In Goodhue, Crotty has a kindred spirit — another clear-thinking, ultracomposed midfielder who, despite still only being 23 with just one test behind him, never appears to have his focus drawn elsewhere.
Throughout Super Rugby this year and last, Goodhue made good decision after good decision.
He also had the ability to stay calm when things didn’t go his way and not dwell on any mistakes he made — skills that Crotty has come to respect and admire in his younger teammate.
“I think he is one of the hardest working midfielders going around if you look at his GPS stats and the amount of contact he gets through in a game,” said Crotty.
“I like his mannerisms out on the field. Sometimes I need to check he’s awake because he’s so calm. For a young guy, to play alongside him in some big moments, and to never see him flustered and stay so cool, calm and on task has always impressed me and I am sure will impress me on Saturday night.”
And it’s not just Crotty who is expecting that. All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has been equally impressed by Goodhue, and by the combination he and Crotty have formed at the Crusaders.
While it is clear both are good players in their own right, it is the way they have gelled and worked in tandem that has led them to being selected in Sydney.
“The combination, really,” Hansen said about why he had picked them to start. “Ryan and Jack have played a lot of footy together and Alby [Anton Lienert-Brown] has come off the bench a lot for us, so we just felt that we like what Alby does for us off the bench — he’s used to it — and we’re starting with a combination that’s really rock solid and has played most of the season together.”
That ability to stay calm is going to be tested by the Wallabies’ midfield combination of Kurtley Beale and Reece Hodge.
While it is a new pairing, both are gifted footballers and Beale especially has become the man who so often lights the Wallabies’ attacking fuse.
“He’s pivotal,” said Crotty of Beale. “With Kurtley you have to make sure you don’t give him too much time and space as any ball player that has time and space will make you pay.
“It is about getting your defensive alignment right and having men on their feet so they have the ability to bring linespeed and take away time and space. That is how you go part of the way to stopping someone as talented as he is.”