Crusaders on high alert
The Brumbies of old. That’s what Scott Robertson thought when he got a look at them doing a number on the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday.
Crusaders head coach Robertson was on the team bus in Perth, headed to HBF Park for their round 12 match against the Force, and wasn’t about to waste an opportunity to do some early scouting.
It’s fair to say Robertson was impressed with the Brumbies’ third win on the trot against Kiwi teams, and their first on New Zealand soil.
‘‘They go to their maul when they need to, and [captain] Nic White is so important ... we know they can play, and it’s going to be a hell of a match,’’ he said ahead of Friday’s fixture against the Brumbies in Canberra.
‘‘The Brumbies games are the ones you want to play in, we’ve got such a great history ... both teams have won some really big battles, we know the importance on the table.’’
Robertson was speaking after his team got back on track by thumping the Force 53-15, a result which very much keeps their toptwo hopes alive.
However, four points behind the second-placed Brumbies heading into their week 13 clash, they’ll have to knock the form Aussies over to avoid drifting off the pace before returning home for their final two regular season matches, against the Drua and Reds.
The good news for the Crusaders is they’ll welcome captain Scott Barrett back from suspension for the match, one they’ll go into with confidence after righting some wrongs in Perth on Saturday night.
Robertson cut a more relaxed figure after the eight tries-to-two romp, knowing the importance of a bounce back performance after they produced what he called the ‘‘worst 20 minutes’’ of rugby under his watch since 2017 against the Waratahs the previous week.
‘‘It was more about how we talk about having the deepest prep, it was pretty superficial. Obviously, they were pretty hungry and desperate, the Waratahs, and they’re a good side, take nothing away from them,’’ Robertson said. ‘‘But we disrespected them in our preparation, and this week the week we’ve had here, totally contrasting. I think the effort reflected that.’’
What made their bounce back win against a side Robertson said should have beaten the Blues the previous week even better was the fact they lost four players – Oli Jager, Zach Gallagher, Mitch Drummond, and Dominic Gardiner – to Covid-19 ahead of kickoff.
The Crusaders fielded three debutants in the match, with academy members and front rowers George Bell and Seb Calder, and Northland lock Liam HallamEames, all earning their first caps off the bench.
Hooker Bell, who the Crusaders have locked in long-term, played the entire second half, and scored the team’s final try of the night.
‘‘Just really proud. Couple of 19-year-olds flying over here and playing with their heroes. They’ve been training with us all year,’’ Robertson said, adding they required New Zealand Rugby to give an exemption for teenagers Bell and Calder to play.
While outside backs Will Jordan and Leicester Fainga’anuku received plenty of the attention for their hat-tricks against the Force, Robertson was quick to point to the series of defensive stops, including a couple on their goal line, when summing up his team’s eighth win of the season.
‘‘That’s what we’re built on,’’ he said.
While the status of the four players rubbed out ahead of kickoff won’t be clarified until the team’s media session tomorrow, the Crusaders will have the rested Jack Goodhue, Codie Taylor and Sevu Reece available for selection against the Brumbies.
‘‘The Brumbies games are the ones you want to play in.’’ Scott Robertson Crusaders coach
Australia’s most successful team in Super Rugby history isn’t just lurking, it’s on the charge.
Forget the Blues and Crusaders, at least for a few moments, and pay close attention to the combative Canberra-based Brumbies.
Some were reluctant to anoint them serious contenders after they knocked over the Highlanders and Hurricanes at home, suggesting they had to prove they could win in New Zealand first.
Challenge accepted, challenge completed – and convincingly.
Their 38-28 win over the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday made it three Kiwi scalps in as many weeks, improving their overall record to 10-1.
That’s equal with the Blues, who have a two-point buffer at the top of the ladder on the back of their romp over the meek Rebels.
But Blues fans shouldn’t start planning for the playoffs to run through Auckland yet, not with a date against the Brumbies in Canberra in a fortnight.
Indeed, the Brumbies won’t just fancy their chances of beating the Blues on home soil, they’ll go into Friday’s humdinger against the Crusaders in the Australian capital confident of getting one over their old foe.
While Brad Thorn’s Reds went into the season touted as the top side from across the Tasman, there is no doubt the Brumbies aren’t just the best Aussie outfit, but one of the best teams in the competition.
Head coach Dan McKellar has constructed a team not just capable of matching it with the Kiwis, but one that can push them around and bury them.
Having bullied All Blacks captain Sam Cane, Pita Gus Sowakula and Luke Jacobson in Hamilton, Pete Samu, Jahrome Brown and Rob Valetini can mix it with any loose forwards trio in the competition.
No team is more effective than them at launching strikes from their efficient lineout, while their accurate and patient attack has proven it can turn field position into points.
To think the Kiwi bookies are still offering $9 for them to win the competition, behind the Blues and Crusaders (both $2.60) and Chiefs ($5.50).
The next two weeks will be telling for the two times champions (2001 and 2004) and four times runner-ups.
Highlanders breathe live into campaign
The prospect of all five New Zealand franchises making the playoffs looks increasingly likely on the back of the Highlanders’ 27-19 win against the lacklustre Reds in Brisbane.
Say what you will about the ridiculous playoff format, but with just three wins to their name, you’d have to fancy the Highlanders’ chances of finishing inside the top eight with games against the Force (home), Waratahs (home) and Rebels (away) to play.
Kudos must go to Tony Brown’s troops for hanging tough and not throwing in the towel after starting the season 1-8.
As for the Reds, who admittedly have had more than their fair share of injuries, what a disappointment they’ve been.
Pivot Lawson Creighton, filling in for the injured James O’Connor, simply isn’t ready for Super Rugby, while their defence – highlighted by the weak effort attempting to stop Thomas Umaga-Jensen on Friday night – lacks the physicality and fight of the Brumbies.
Crusaders are far from done
Crusaders fans can again breathe easy, after their side righted some wrongs by hammering the Force 53-15 in Perth on Saturday night.
After a couple of lacklustre performances, head coach Scott Robertson, who lost four players to Covid-19 ahead of kickoff, would have been chuffed to see his team slash its error rate and put a plucky Force outfit away.
To do it with three debutants, including 19-year-old hooker George Bell, and without copping any cards, was another plus.
Now, at a time they usually ramp things up with the business end of the competition fast approaching, they get captain Scott Barrett back ahead of Friday’s crunch match against the Brumbies.