New era for Crusaders
As Super Rugby gets set to start, Fairfax Media previews the New Zealand teams’ campaigns. Richard Knowler looks at the Crusaders.
Awhirlwind has ripped through the Crusaders, all in the hope that it can break a barren title run stretching back to 2008. In the aftermath of Scott Robertson’s appointment as Crusaders head coach last winter, there has been no shortage of upheaval at the Christchurch-based club.
Ex-head coach Todd Blackadder’s departure to English premiership Bath coincided with backs assistant Tabai Matson following him to Somerset, while another assistant, Dave Hewett, opted not to reapply for his role as forwards coach.
Robertson subsequently recruited Leon MacDonald and Jason Ryan to be part of his coaching group, with Brad Mooar retained from the Blackadder era. There has also been a turnover in a number of back office jobs and for different reasons the Crusaders have had a change in manager, doctor and strength and conditioning coach.
Oh, and by the way, they have a new captain in Sam Whitelock: All Blacks skipper Kieran Read accepted Robertson’s request that he step down from the club leadership position, enabling him to focus solely on his job at No 8 and not be distracted by his international gig.
It’s a switch that makes sense, and was one that Blackadder had earlier contemplated making in his final year in charge, but will it be enough to earn the Crusaders a title?
As Blackadder discovered it is one thing to have a roster heaving with internationals, but keeping them focused on the grind of Super Rugby, and formulating a game plan that will extract the best from them, is a different thing.
The enthusiastic Robertson arrives with a couple of NPC titles in his kitbag, thanks to his success with Canterbury, and he also won a world title with the New Zealand under-20 team in 2015, but this is a hell of a challenge in his first year.
With the British and Irish Lions tour scheduled to be played inside the Super Rugby window, Robertson has to wring the best out of his All Blacks before they bowl up to Steve Hansen and say they are ready for this once in a lifetime experience against the men from up north.
No, it won’t be easy for a coach in his first year at this level.
There is a lot more to this part of the job than just gathering together the five-star internationals in a meeting room, tapping them gently on the temple and whispering how this job at the Crusaders should mean the world to them.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. If you are a player all the really good stuff is at All Blacks level: the crowds, fanfare and exposure from playing a test is a world away from playing in front of a half-full stadium on a rainy Friday night in Christchurch.
When you look at the Crusaders squad on paper, there is a lot to like. How can there not be when there are nine All Blacks forwards on the team sheet and another three in the backline?
We will know more about what the new Crusaders era holds when the team meets the Brumbies in their season opener on Saturday.