Crusaders back Penney despite ‘body blow’ defeat
Tony Smith
The Crusaders are backing Rob Penney and his coaching team despite the 14-time champions dropping to the bottom of the Super Rugby Pacific table.
Penney and his team returned to Christchurch after a two-loss tour to Australia, with Saturday’s 37-15 drubbing from the Western Force following a last-minute defeat for the Waratahs.
For the first time since 1996 the Crusaders are propping up the table in mid-season. But there will be no panic-move coaching change.
Crusaders chief executive Colin Mansbridge said yesterday the Perth defeat was “very demoralising’’, but the board and management remain right behind Penney and his team and feel it’s “not impossible’’ to achieve a turnaround with six games remaining.
“We are really disappointed, no doubt about it, in the results and really disappointed in the position we now find ourselves in, but we remain confident in this coaching group,” Mansbridge said.
He said there was “very little hard evidence either in New Zealand or overseas, in our code or any other sporting code, that a change mid-season in particular enhances the whole performance for the year”.
“The only that would make us change is if the environment was toxic or there was a significant disconnect between players or coaches. But that’s not evident in our environment.”
Mansbridge said the only reason a major change would be considered was “one, responding to external pressure which we’re not going to do if it doesn’t feel right, and, two, if there was an issue in the environemnt with toxicity, real poor leadership and/or difficulty between players and coaches.
“I can assure you that the players and coaches are very aligned. We’ve got to prove it by putting a couple of performances on the park.”
The Crusaders have already conducted a standard “mid-season check-in across the entire organisation’’, Mansbridge said.
The process included “an acknowledgement of a lack of results, but also an understanding of contributing factors both inside and outside, the Crusaders’ control
Mansbridge would not “go into detail on inside control’’. but admitted there ”were a few things to improve but not significant enough to cause us to think [about personnel changes]“.
He stressed he was not “making excuses’’, but there had been more ”breadth and depth issues across the squad... not just in one or two positions’’ than in previous years.“
“When you’re not putting consistent combinations, who have played a lot together, on the paddock at one time, you have a lot of clunkiness, disconnectedness and a lack of cohesion.“
The Crusaders had not always been able to “put a bunch of athletes on the park who’ve all played a lot of footy together.
“Some of the innate understanding that you’re seeing in some other squads that comes from playing a lot together, you’re not seeing that in our environment at the moment.’’
Mansbridge said, again “it’s not an excuse’’ but the Crusaders’ draw for the first half of the season had been “a bit brutal’’ with ”a bit more travel’’ meaning “a bit more time off the grass [training]”.
He also said “seven to 10 minutes across four games’’ had been another factor in the Crusaders’ results so far. Had they ”closed out last week’’ against the Waratahs, “held on for an extra 30 seconds against the Hurricanes’’ and got a result against the Chiefs in a 33-29 first round defeat in Hamiton, and then ”had a performance like we did against the Force, I don’t think there’d be any commentary now.’’
Blues coach Vern Cotter has an interesting call to make in the coming weeks.
Big Sam Darry made his return via the bench against the Brumbies on Saturday, but the man he replaced is in the form of his life.
Laghlan McWhannell didn’t have any luck with injuries at the Chiefs, but now that he is healthy and getting regular rugby at the Blues he is starting to blossom.
Statistically, McWhannell is the best lineout operator in New Zealand, with 36 lineout wins, including six steals on opposition ball, according to Opta statistics.
The 198cm Waikato product is still young for a tight forward at 25 years old, but his core skills and athleticism are both impressive.
The All Blacks are obviously in the market for at least one new lock, and the contenders are starting to emerge.
McWhannell earns the No 5 jersey in Stuff’s team of the week.
15 Josh Moorby (Hurricanes): There were no real standouts this week, but Moorby was typically effective against the Drua.
14 Mark Tele’a (Blues): Sevu Reece was again strong for the Crusaders, but Tele’a beat nine defenders and made more than 100 metres in the wet.
13 Billy Proctor (Hurricanes): The Hurricanes midfielder is really starting to express himself as an attacking threat as well as a smart defender.
12 Jordie Barrett (Hurricanes): A fearless defensive display by the All Black - the Drua would have beaten a lot of teams on Friday.
11 Caleb Clarke (Blues): He’ll be living in the heads of several Brumbies - forwards and backs - after a damaging performance with the ball.
10 Aidan Morgan (Hurricanes): Winsthe bravery award for playing on despite a nasty cut, and he didn’t miss any tackles, or conversion attempts.
9 TJ Perenara (Hurricanes): Blotted copybook with a kick error in the first half, but had two try assists and 12 tackles in the Suva sauna.
8 Hoskins Sotutu (Blues): Another devastating display of power against the Brumbies at Eden Park.
7 Dalton Papalii (Blues): He’s gone up a couple of gears in recent weeks, particularly with ball in hand.
6 Akira Ioane (Blues): Was a constant presence close to the ruck, making the hard yards in the heaviest traffic.
5 Laghlan McWhannell (Blues): Reliable source of lineout ball against the Brumbies, on Saturday and showed glimpses of his running game.
4 Patrick Tuipulotu (Blues): Mr Go Forward. There probably isn’t a heavier carrier of the ball in New Zealand.
3 Marcel Renata (Blues): More than held his own against the Brumbies and Wallabies veteran James Slipper during scrum time.
2 Ricky Riccitelli (Blues): Tailor-made for for the close-quarter combat preferred by coach Cotter.
1 Ofa Tuungafasi (Blues): Rock solid at the set-piece and damaging once again with the ball in his hands.