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Crusaders consign Chiefs to worst-ever losing streak

By Online Editors
Sam Whitelock. (Photo by Fiona Goodall/Getty Images)

The Crusaders are one win away from the inaugural Super Rugby Aotearoa title after a controversy-tinged 32-19 victory in Hamilton.

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Rebounding from their first home loss in four years to the Hurricanes last week, the Crusaders compounded the Chiefs’ misery by handing Warren Gatland’s men their eighth-straight defeat, one which again put the officials in the spotlight.

The Chiefs have felt dudded by the officials several times this season – last week’s final play at Eden Park merely the last example. Gatland is again likely to take umbrage with a crucial decision midway through the second half which helped the Crusaders kick clear.

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Aotearoa Rugby Pod | How to beat the Crusaders

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Aotearoa Rugby Pod | How to beat the Crusaders

With 20 minutes remaining and one point separating the teams, Sevu Reece scored after what appeared to be a knock on from Quinten Strange. The Crusaders lock dragged the ball forward with momentum before Reece swooped.

Referee Ben O’Keeffe and television match official Glenn Newman believed otherwise, ruling in favour of Reece to hand the visitors an eight-point lead that proved much too difficult to overturn.

The Crusaders scored a classy try after that movement – Richie Mo’unga injecting himself on an inside ball to send Leicester Fainga’anuku over. But Reece’s dubious try hugely influenced the outcome in front of 15,082 locals.

Close but not good enough remains the sad story of the Chiefs season. Five-tries-to-one once again highlights their attacking struggles since lockdown. Not even Aaron Cruden’s 100th Super Rugby match could inspire them to snap their record losing streak.

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Everyone other than Crusaders supporters wanted a Chiefs victory to keep the title race alive but it was not to be.

Instead the bonus point victory celebrates Sam Whitelock’s 150th match and pushes the Crusaders seven points clear of Blues at the top of the table. Scott Robertson’s side only needs one win from their remaining two fixtures – against the Highlanders in Christchurch and the Blues at Eden Park – to claim the crown.

If the Chiefs are searching positives they need look no further than Lachlan Boshier, their everywhere man. In another losing effort Boshier produced standout performance at the breakdown, on defence, at the lineout and he claimed his side’s only try in a 63 minute shift while carrying an ankle knock.

The loose forwards mix for the All Blacks is incredibly competitive but Boshier continues to state his case.

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The Chiefs trailed 17-10 at halftime but they never held the lead and were chasing the game from the outset after a poor start, particularly on defence.

The Crusaders set the tone by scoring two tries in the opening 15 minutes. Tom Sanders found himself charging down the touchline and over the top of a brave Damian McKenzie after quick hands down the short side found space on the edge. Will Jordan then waltzed past Shaun Stevenson in the second instance of poor Chiefs defending to hand the Crusaders a 12-0 lead early.

Jordan and George Bridge often popped up at first receiver but whenever Mo’unga challenged the line the All Blacks first five-eighth was lethal with his stepping and offloading causing havoc on several occasions.

Sam Cane and Boshier were supreme defensively and at the breakdown where they both snaffled turnovers. On attack, fellow Chiefs loose forward Pita Gus Sowakula stormed off the back of the scrum with telling carries.

The Chiefs’ kicking game, however, left a lot to be desired. They kicked too much and inaccurately – too often straight to the Crusaders back three which allowed repeated counter attacking chances.

They were also guilty of forcing the play. McKenzie’s cross-field kick sailed well wide of Sean Wainui and Brad Weber’s inside flick ball another example of attacking impatience.

While the Chiefs did well to recover from the opening onslaught and work their way back into the match they went to the sheds one man short and seven points down.

Stevenson’s night went from bad to worse when he was yellow carded for intentionally knocking the ball down and Codie Taylor then rumbled 15 metres over from a lineout drive to strike on halftime, as the Crusaders so often do.

Reece’s strike will leave a sour taste for the Chiefs but their losing habit is near impossible to break.

With a final round bye, the Chiefs have one more chance to end this winless run in Wellington next week.

Crusaders 32 (Tom Sanders, Will Jordan, Codie Taylor, Sevu Reece, Leicester Fainga’anuku tries; Richie Mo’unga 2 cons, pen)
Chiefs 19 (Lachlan Boshier try; Damian McKenzie con, 4 pens)
HT: 17-10

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J
Jon 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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