Veterans must deliver for Chiefs
Aaron Cruden must play a major role in leading the win-less Chiefs out of a dark rabbit hole, or their Super Rugby Aotearoa title hopes are doomed.
If 50-test ex-All Blacks playmaker Cruden can’t help shift the Chiefs out of their form slump, and that must start with a win over the Hurricanes in Hamilton on Sunday, their glittering hopes of being a heavyweight presence in 2020 will have disappeared within weeks of the winter solstice.
Consecutive defeats to the Highlanders, Blues and Crusaders mean the Chiefs are placed fourth on the log, having accumulated just two competition points.
This isn’t flash; when the club recruited ex-Wales coach Warren Gatland as a replacement for Colin Cooper, and wooed Cruden back from France on a one-year deal, the organisation’s hierarchy appeared pleased.
Now they’ve been left clutching their refreshments with a vice-like grip, as they wonder whether the Chiefs can fight their way out of this funk.
Cruden says they can, but things need to change and quickly.
The 31-year-old also insists the Chiefs are not panicking; the players are willing to keep learning at training and have the desire to hunt for victories.
He says Gatland has every right to expect the senior players to blaze a path to a victory at FMG Stadium Waikato against the Hurricanes; and as far as Cruden is concerned, he is still passionate about doing his best for the team he has represented
97 times.
‘‘Although the reality is we are
0 and 3 I am still as competitive as I always have been,’’ Cruden says.
‘‘I have got a desire to win and I feel like, and the whole group does, that it [a win] is not too far away.
‘‘Certain aspects of my game are going very well, but in terms of being the general, being the organiser, I am pretty hard on myself.
‘‘I think I can certainly take charge of some of those roles a little bit more, to help our team to get a victory.’’
Cruden made two precious line breaks during the 18-13 loss to the Crusaders in Christchurch last weekend, but offloads to opposition players meant that good work quickly unravelled.
He also accepts he and his team-mates need to temper their desire to run, and turn up the heat by kicking more in behind defensive lines.
The Chiefs have had the most time in possession (17 min 52 sec) per game of any team in the competition, but under the new rule interpretations it doesn’t always pay to hold the ball.
Such statistics would be great if a team was winning. The problem is obvious for the Chiefs – they aren’t.
‘‘He [Gatland] is always on to us about our kicking stats, compared to the opposition and to be honest in all three games we have been behind in terms of general kicks and kicks in play,’’ Cruden noted.
‘‘Obviously that is not a direct correlation between a win and a loss but you have got to respect the fact that does have an impact as well.’’
Cruden left New Zealand in 2017 to play in France; having waited for Dan Carter to move overseas and vacate the No 10 All Blacks jersey after the 2015 World Cup, Cruden was then unable to stave off the challenge of Beauden Barrett. A lucrative contract with Clermont on the continent beckoned.
His deal with the Chiefs was always a one-year proposition, because of the deal with Japanese club Kobelco Steelers. Although it’s uncertain whether the Top League will start on time, because of Covid-19, Cruden is still planning for that.
Being contracted to play in Japan means Cruden won’t be available to represent Manawatu in the Mitre 10 Cup; he confirmed he had discussed his situation with the provincial union’s chief executive Shannon Paku.
‘‘I said while I would love to, at this stage and where things are at, it’s not a possibility, unfortunately, for the season coming,’’ Cruden stated.