Pressure on Penney after slow start by Crusaders

A body language expert wasn’t needed to decipher Rob Penney’s mood when cameras homed in on him during last week’s match in Melbourne.

The first-year Crusaders head coach was clearly irked. Perched behind his assistant coaches and red in the face as he watched his team capitulate against the Waratahs, there was no disguising his displeasure.

Tasked with the daunting job of replacing serial winner Scott Robertson in the hot seat, it was almost as if he could sense the lens burning through his cheeks as it zoomed closer.

Indeed, he knows all eyes are on him, and that pressure will quickly rev up if the Crusaders can’t dig themselves out of the early hole they’ve dug.

“It’s never easy when you have an organisation that’s prided itself on being able to get across the line when challenging times occur, and we haven’t been able to for a couple of weeks,” Penney said.

He was speaking on Wednesday, the day before the Crusaders flew to sweltering Lautoka to face the Fijian Drua, who beat them in the corresponding fixture a year ago, before the red-and-blacks butchered them in a home quarterfinal.

Indeed, hardly an enticing fixture for a young team desperate to find its feet under a new-look coaching team, and one that must win to avoid the franchise’s first 0-3 start to a season since 1996.

But it’s a chance to show a bit of fight, a bit of bottle.

“The resolve has deepened. I am not concerned or questioning the boys’ resolve or dedication or commitment, that’s been awesome,” Penney said.

“The coaching staff and the whole management group have been awesome, because we realise it’s been a long time since the Crusaders have been in this place.”

The primary reason they’re in this place – they last lost their first two games in 2014 – is because they haven’t been able to get out of their own clumsy way.

The majority of the seven tries they have conceded have followed errors inside their own half, and they haven’t been able to get into a groove on attack due to their high error count.

“Well, I think it’s probably one of the worst stats the Crusaders have had,” Penney lamented, pointing to the 18 turnovers they conceded from 36 opportunities with the ball last weekend.

“The boys know,’’ he said, sighing. “They are proud men, they are quality players, we are better than that.

“You can do as much skill work as you want, but adding that element of pressure and opposition coming into your face and invasiveness, creates a level of pressure that we are capable of coping with, we just haven’t.

“Hopefully the worm will turn very soon.”

Exiting their own 22 has been particularly troublesome through two weeks, highlighted by the Waratahs scoring directly from a David Havili charged-down kick, and a shallow Noah Hotham box-kick giving the same opponents one more chance in the first half, which they turned into a try.

“One of our goals is to be world class at exiting.

“And jeez we’ve been poor. Coaches are all over, it, players are all over it, repetition. I'd like to think we are quick learners.”

Penny had better hope so, especially with clashes against the Hurricanes (home), Blues (away) and Chiefs (home) to follow ahead of their bye week.

As he put it, the Crusaders have so far been “an eight-cylinder motor running on about 4½ cylinders”. It doesn’t look or sound good.

“Jeepers, I hope for the boys’ sakes we can make the changes required, and I’m sure we can to get a performance. And on the back of a good performance, I’m sure the results will come.’’

“I am not concerned or questioning the boys’ resolve or dedication or commitment, that’s been awesome.”

Crusaders coach Rob Penney