Crusaders tested by NZ depleted player pool

SCOTT Robertson isn’t accustomed to mining so deep into New Zealand’s player pool during his time as a Super Rugby coach.

Flying Fijians Manasa Mataele will face his former team the Crusaders as he will don the Western Force colour at HBF Park, Perth in Australia tonight.

The Crusaders’ head coach would like nothing more than to field the same 23 twice this season, but if it’s not one thing stopping him doing so, it’s another.

Indeed, in an ideal world, he’d be fielding a different side to the one he’s named for the Crusaders’ first match against the Force in Perth since 2016, as his team prepares to bounce back from a surprise defeat the Waratahs.

Having made a bevy of changes to his team for their round 12 clash, Robertson said this year was “easily” the deepest he’d had to dig for troops.

“We’re really deep, some of the players have been to two or three other Super teams and trained with them already, it just shows the stocks are lower, there is no doubt.”

He reiterated what he said ahead of the season, when he was searching for players to train with the squad while his All Blacks were still on leave, pointing to Moana Pasifika’s inclusion in Super Rugby, Major League Rugby and Japan’s ever-growing competition spreading the talent thin.

Throw in multiple suspensions, including captain Scott Barrett’s, injuries, Richie Mo’unga’s sabbatical to start the season, All Blacks rest protocols and COVID-19, and it’s more than tested the team often lauded for their exceptional depth.

“A lot of it has been stuff we haven’t been able to control.

“I’d like to have rolled out the same team twice this year, we haven’t got close to that yet,” Robertson said.

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