Discipline key for Crusaders against Hurricanes — McCaw

Keeping the penalty count down and avoiding basic mistakes will be crucial for the Crusaders’ hopes of winning the Super Rugby semifinal against the Hurricanes on Saturday, according to former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw.

The champion Crusaders host the Hurricanes in Christchurch in an all-New Zealand clash, with the winner to face either SA’s Lions or the Sydney-based Waratahs in the August 4 final.

McCaw, who retired from all forms of the game after leading the All Blacks to their third World Cup victory in 2015, watched the Crusaders beat the Sharks 40-10 in the quarterfinal and said the match had shown errors his old side must fix.

“It’s the little mistakes and the back-to-back penalties you know that are allowing momentum to go against you,” the former Crusaders skipper told TVNZ. “It can just be one or two things like that and you can go from being on the front foot to all of a sudden, with the guys the Hurricanes have got, being under pressure, and it can cost you seven points.

“You saw that against the Sharks; the first 20 minutes was all Crusaders and then a couple of mistakes and it was back to an arm wrestle for a while.

“If they can keep those to a minimum, they’ve definitely got the skill, and with how they’re doing things, they’ll be good enough as well,” McCaw said.

If the Crusaders win on Saturday they will host the final, but if the Hurricanes beat the Crusaders and the Lions overcome the Waratahs, the final will be in Johannesburg.

The 37-year-old McCaw retired after 148 Test caps and more than 140 appearances for the Crusaders, where he won four Super Rugby titles.

He said he still had a slight urge to get out on the field when watching them play.

“There’s a little bit [of feeling] that sits there, but you get past that and I just enjoy seeing the guys carry on and keeping the Crusaders top of the list,” the three times World Player of the Year said.