Top ABs missing
The far-reaching shadow of the World Cup is already forcing Scott Robertson to be innovative.
The All Blacks management’s request that top test players be stood down from all trial games means the Crusaders, like the other four New Zealand clubs, must ring-fence their stars until Super Rugby starts next weekend.
The upshot is that Crusaders coach Robertson has been unable to select a full-strength team to play the the final pre-season fixture against the Highlanders in South bridge tomorrow evening, with captain Sam Whitelock, Kieran Read, Codie Taylor, Owen Franks, Joe Moody, Matt Todd, Richie Mo’unga, Ryan Crotty and Jack Goodhue destined to sit on the sideline.
Traditionally most of All Blacks have been permitted to play 40 minutes in the last ‘‘friendly’’, giving coaches an opportunity to gauge their fitness, and willingness to protect their reputations before the competition begins.
Not this year, though. And that means Robertson has had to tweak his pre-season training programmes.
‘‘It is a different challenge for us, it 100 per cent is,’’ he said. ‘‘There is no doubt that having that game for them is beneficial, but [with the] World Cup year, the season is a week earlier. It is just the way it works out.
‘‘You can make an issue if you want, or you can find a solution – which we have and get on with it, with the right mind set.’’
Even so, Robertson will still field a respectable starting XV to contest the Farmlands Cup. Tim Perry, Luke Romano, Mitchell Drummond, George Bridge and David Havili have all represented their country at the highest level.
Given they have won the title for the past two years, the Crusaders know they won’t get sympathy for having so many top players stripped out of their roster at this stage of the season. No-one outside their region will weep at them having Whitelock, Read and Taylor rubbed out of the early rounds, as part of a deal brokered with the All Blacks, either.
So Robertson has had to generate ideas in terms of ensuring his All Blacks get their share of contact on the training pitch. Because it won’t do to have them undercooked, given they have three tough derby games against the Blues, Hurricanes and Chiefs in the first four rounds.
‘‘We are just managing the All Blacks, as much as we possibly can, so they can get through our structures and the shapes that we are running,’’ Robertson said. ‘‘And integrate them as much as we can because they have got to have contact . . . the physicality of it.
‘‘It is alright running through shapes, until someone is front of you and banging into you. It is a bit different isn’t it?’’
It rarely pays to take much notice of the results of pre-season outings, with coaches loath to allow their opponents the chance to view their best plays.
Robertson was heard barking a warning during a training on Waitangi Day, telling his players not to open the throttle too wide: ‘‘When you have got the All Blacks and they are on their toes, they are ready to go,’’ he said. ‘‘They are normally playing this week, but just with the structure of the season they have got to wait one more [week]. They are keen which is a great sign, and a bit of fun.
‘‘That’s my exuberance, I think, coming out as well.’’