Crusaders boss backs Penney as ‘right guy’

Rob Penney can’t take a trick in his first stint as head coach of the Crusaders, but the embattled coach has received the all-important endorsement from his boss ahead of their latest attempt to get off the schneid this Super Rugby Pacific season.

The winless Crusaders are standing firm in the midst of their worst losing run in the history of Super Rugby, with chief executive Colin Mansbridge saying yesterday that he has every faith that Penney can turn the tide after four straight defeats to open the campaign.

The Crusaders take their latest swing at their first victory of the season against the Blues at Eden Park today

Mansbridge emphatically denied the axe is hovering over Penney’s head after the unprecedented opening month, and quickly quelled any talk of panic in the ranks from a franchise that won the previous seven championships on the bounce under super coach Scott Robertson.

“We absolutely believe he’s the right guy,” said Mansbridge of Penney. “There is no doubt about that. Some people are saying there was always going to be a dropoff after some key departures, but we wouldn’t accept that. There have been some results we haven’t achieved, but it’s not about coaches or personnel, frankly.’’

Mansbridge’s endorsement is notable in that this is not the first time Penney has faced this type of situation. In his last stint coaching in Super Rugby, he was sacked by the Waratahs in 2021 after opening the season with five defeats on the bounce. He is on a personal nine-match losing skid in this competition.

But Mansbridge, while anxious not to indulge in excuse-making, acknowledged that Penney had faced a tough situation in his first stint with the 14-time champion outfit.

The red-and-blacks have a massive injury list, on top of Codie Taylor being out on sabbatical and Owen Franks suspended. Among key absences to face the Blues are All Blacks Scott Barrett, Ethan Blackadder and Tamaiti Williams, new signing Leigh Halfpenny, preferred pivots Fergus Burke and Rivez Reihana and hooker Brodie

“We have heaps of confidence in our personnel, and confidence in the coaching group.’’ Crusaders CEO Colin Mansbridge backs coach Rob Penney, above

McAlister, while Will Jordan and Braydon Ennor are both out for the season.

The combination of defections and departures is so widespread that loose forward Tom Christie is the only player starting against the Blues who ran out for the final against the Chiefs last June.

But Mansbridge said the losing start to the season did not mean replacement players were not up to the mark.

“What it probably means is the next player up hasn’t played as much footy with the rest of the group as we would normally like,” he said. “When we bring players in, there’s almost a blooding process, so by the time they’re playing regularly they fit in hand and glove. We’re being forced to be a little less strategic around that.

“But we have heaps of confidence in our personnel, and confidence in the coaching group. We’re frustrated and disappointed with where we’re at, but we’re certainly not panicking.

“We’ve always been built on cohesion, and cohesion is about having players play together. Irrespective of how much experience player A has and player B has, if they haven’t played together a lot then you get clunky, and I think we’ve been a bit clunky.

“Nobody is happy with where we’re at, or accepting of it. But internally we’re still galvanised and excited.”