Did I really just become a Crusaders fan?
Just because I was born in Timbuktu, doesn’t mean I support Mali. Right now I am a Crusaders supporter. Not because of where they are, but because of who they are. They play the beautiful game. It’s not about rugby, it’s about aesthetics. The Crusaders have become a joy to watch.
In 1991 I hoped that Australia would win the World Cup. OK, so I had $100 on them, but there was more to it than that as I sat in the seething Twickenham crowd. The Aussies were the team to watch. Four years later it was New Zealand. I turned up at my friends’ house in London for the semifinal against England wearing an All Blacks tie. They could not believe it.
In 2019 I have put out an eye in order to become a Cantabrian. The Crusaders are doing beautiful things for rugby. In an era when the Six Nations is being decided by which side can go through 34 phases without attempting more than one pass at a time, there is joy to be found in what Scott Robertson and his coaching cronies are up to.
Until half their playmakers left the field, the Crusaders humiliated the Hurricanes. Dane Coles, the captain of the Hurricanes, said: ‘‘That first 40 or so they were unreal ... I thought they might have been a bit tighter with that wind, but they actually played a lot better footie than we probably thought they would ... The offloads really killed us.’’
The Hurricanes like to bring a bit of line-speed, but the Crusaders coaches gave a masterclass in what can be done against it. The four key points were misdirection, field position, handling accuracy and depth.
Here is how the Crusaders structured one break-out in the first half. From lineout ball inside their half, Bryn Hall passed to Richie Mo’unga who passed to Matt Todd on the outside of a pod of three. Jordan Taufua set off on Todd’s inside as if he was going to surge on the inside shoulder of the defence.
Instead Todd passed out the back to Ryan Crotty who was coming across. Jack Goodhue, who had been holding the outside, then changed his angle, as if to take the ball off Crotty coming on the cut. That held Matt Proctor who is one of the best defensive 13s in Super Rugby.
But the guy who took the ball off Crotty turned out to be Manasa Mataele who had come storming across from the right wing. He ran into the space that Proctor had left when he had check to cover Goodhue. The Crusaders blew that try because Mataele, having made a huge break, gave the final pass way too late.
But it was still a thing of beauty which was to be repeated with bewildering variations – or at least the Canes defence found them bewildering. First and foremost it depends on accurate passing and the timing of the runners. At the start of the second half two Crusaders moves broke down because the pass was inaccurate or the runner mistimed his run.
That is rare, such are the skills of the Crusaders playmakers. On this occasion Mo’unga’s pass was perfect. Todd’s pass was perfect. Crotty’s pass was perfect. And everyone timed their runs to the split second.
On another occasion the Crusaders scored straight from a kick-off. The forwards drove the ball up, Hall passed directly to Todd and then Mo’unga and Crotty both took passes out the back with forwards running inside decoys. At that moment Crotty could have broken the Canes’ line in any number of ways. The decoys were flat. The playmakers were deep. And because the Crusaders were coming from their 22, the Canes needed defenders in the backfield. The risk may be higher, but it is way easier in modern rugby to attack from the 22. It used to be a Chiefs speciality. Now it is the Crusaders.
I do not believe the All Blacks can play like this because they prefer to play strike runners, not passers, at 10 and 12. That narrows their options. Nor do they have quite the brains trust that now exists at the Crusaders.
That is not to belittle the All Blacks coaches but to highlight the extraordinary innovation that is going on at the Crusaders. Assistant coach Brad Mooar used to be a 10. So did backs coach Ronan O’Gara. Assistant coach Andrew Goodman played at 10, 12 and 13. They are relatively young coaches, innovative coaches, who experienced playing against the jammed defences. The same could be said of Scott Robertson. In some ways their minds look to be more open. They are collaborative. They are finding new ways.
Other teams have been catching the All Blacks who I suspect would be reluctant to sacrifice defensive muscle for the creativity that the Crusaders are getting from their 7, 9, 10 and 12. But the Crusaders are also getting leadership. It would be no surprise to see Todd, Mo’unga and Crotty follow so many former Crusaders in becoming coaches in future years. They are already almost thinking like coaches. That is a reason why the team continues to evolve and create.