Crusaders set sights on Chiefs
Even if Israel Dagg produced a high-voltage performance for his University club on Saturday, the question would have remained the same.
Where can the 61-test All Blacks fullback/wing be placed in a Crusaders’ backline that has added so much electricity to the team’s performances during its 11-match winning streak in Super Rugby?
As it happened, Dagg was savvy enough to not try too much during his 40 minutes against MaristAlbion at Edgar MacIntosh Park.
He tested his right knee, which required surgery following the game against the Reds on March 11, by ensuring his positional play at fullback wasn’t neglected and picked his moments for when to get involved.
In doing so he may have proved to the Crusaders coaches he can travel for the match against the Chiefs in Suva on Friday night.
Now, to return to the original question. What should Crusaders coach Scott Robertson do with Dagg, because David Havili has been terrific at fullback, and although wings Seta Tamanivalu and George Bridge didn’t get much ball during the 20-12 win over the Hurricanes at AMI Stadium last Saturday night, they have added enthusiasm and attacking zest in earlier games.
Perhaps Dagg, if invited to leave for Suva on Tuesday, will be listed on the bench where his experience could prove invaluable against a side that is coming off the bye.
‘‘I will be good to go for next week,’’ Dagg confirmed. ‘‘I am confident in the knee, you know it is as good as it can be. I just have to get on with it and deal with it. It is probably more of a mental challenge.
‘‘I just have to stay positive and get through it.’’
Robertson is going to leave behind All Blacks lock Scott Barrett for the trip to Fiji, while openside flanker Matt Todd must prove his fitness.
Barrett will be unavailable for around a fortnight after damage to his ankle and knee forced him to retire late in the first half against the Canes.
Todd failed a concussion test in the second spell, but post-match Robertson was cautiously optimistic he would be fit.
‘‘Toddy was asymptomatic after the game, he didn’t quite get through the examination,’’ Robertson said. ‘‘It doesn’t mean he isn’t available for next week. He feels good, it was best for him to be safe.’’
The good news is another international, Sam Whitelock, also the club captain, returns from his twoweek ban and will slot into the second row alongside Luke Romano, with rookie Quinten Strange, who put in a mighty shift against the Canes when he replaced the injured Barrett, on the bench.
Strange won’t have to waste time wondering if he can expect another torrid encounter, because the briefest glimpse of a Crusaders’ jersey seems to throw the Chiefs forwards into a cranky state.
The Crusaders scrum, which placed so much pressure on the Hurricanes’ set-piece you feared veins would burst out of players’ foreheads, nullified the extraordinary talents of Beauden Barrett and ensured the hard-running midfielder Ngani Laumape was under-employed.
First five-eighth Barrett couldn’t unleash any of his X-factor tricks, there were no gaps in the defensive wall to exploit. That is something the Crusaders will hope to replicate against a Chiefs side that contains another All Black in Aaron Cruden at No 10. Remember, too, the Crusaders kept their heads when the pushand-shove flurries could have ignited into a punch-up. Such composure will be paramount against the niggly Chiefs.
‘‘There were a couple of pushes in a scrum when it could have blown-up,’’ Robertson acknowledged. ‘‘We have talked about it because those key moments can change a game. The composure and leadership was superb.’’