Crusaders player ratings vs Brumbies | Super Rugby Pacific
The Crusaders travelled to Canberra to take on the Brumbies on Friday evening knowing that a win could see them jump into second place on the overall Super Rugby Pacific ladder.
The Brumbies were first out of the blocks thanks to the efforts of Irae Simone but the visitors quickly wrestled back control of the match and dominated the game for the bulk of the 80 minutes – although a fightback late in the piece certainly made for an exciting final 15 minutes.
Come the end of the match, the Crusaders emerged victorious with a 36-27 win – but who were the best individual performers on the night?
1. George Bower – 6.5
One part of a an incredibly dominant scrum. Had no issues managing Allan Alaalatoa – the man who could well once again be wearing the No 3 jersey for the Wallabies this year. Made one nice carry and was excellent at planting the ball for his supporting forwards and halfback. Off in 57th minute.
2. Codie Taylor – 7
Looks to be coming into form at the right time of the season. Generally very tidy at lineout time – except for one comically abysmal delivery shortly before halftime. Put through an impeccable grubber kick which popped up perfectly for Sevu Reece to grab the Crusaders’ second try. Was the second-top tackler when he departed the match at halftime.
3. Fletcher Newell – 7
Kept to his knitting. Monstered James Slipper at the first scrum and generally had ascendency over his Wallaby opposition, even if it didn’t always result in many gains. Once or twice found himself in the way of his fleet-footed backs but that’s sometimes the case for props. Off in 63rd minute.
4. Scott Barrett – 6
Trucked the ball up regularly and was happy to have a go at the opposition breakdown. Charged down a Rodney Iona clearing kick which handed the Crusaders possession deep inside the Brumbies 22 and led to Taylor’s opening try. Grabbed all his lineouts. Copped a penalty for bringing down a maul.
5. Sam Whitelock – 4
A very quiet match from the All Black. Wasn’t hugely industrious on defence and slipped off a couple of tackles to boot. Also didn’t feature at all at the lineout. After carrying such a heavy workload with so many other locks injured (or suspended), you have to wonder if the big man needs a big rest.
6. Pablo Matera – 7.5
Has slowly come into his own for the Crusaders throughout the season, effective on both sides of the ball. Made one great carry early in the piece to set up a solid platform for the Crusaders inside their 22, and then replicated those efforts late in the game to create prime attacking ball. Beat six defenders. A regular target at the lineout. Pinged once at the breakdown and once for bringing down a maul.
7. Ethan Blackadder – 8
Displayed an incredible engine, making hit after hit late into the game. Finished the match with a game-high 25 tackles – more than twice as many as the next most-industrious Crusader. When he wasn’t hitting attacking players, he was hitting breakdowns. Pinged once for going off his feet while trying to initiate a steal at the breakdown.
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8. Cullen Grace – 6.5
A more than willing carrier of the ball. Put in some punishing hits on defence in the first half and was a regular lineout target throughout the first 40. Off in 70th minute.
9. Bryn Hall – 7
Delivered sharp ball to his teammates thanks to the dominance the Crusaders forwards had over their opposition. Nabbed one very well-taken try with a short-distance dart. Off in 66th minute.
10. Richie Mo’unga – 8
Controlled proceedings well. Didn’t overplay his hand but wasn’t afraid to take on the line. Nailed all seven of his attempts on goal and became just the seventh player to eclipse 1,000 points at Super Rugby level with his second penalty of the night. Missed touch with one penalty and couldn’t quite wrangle Tom Wright when the Brumbies winger dashed away for a score.
11. George Bridge – 5
Struggled to get involved and wasn’t tested under the high ball as many might have expected. Penalised once at the breakdown. Off in 50th minute.
12. David Havili – 6
Stripped while trying to carry the ball out of the Crusaders 22 early in the match, which handed the Brumbies a great attacking platform. Irae Simone touched down moments later. Managed one strip of his own when the Brumbies were on the attack towards halftime. One lovely offload out of the tackle close to the tryline in the 65th minute handed Will Jordan his try. Copped a penalty for a marginally high tackle.
13. Jack Goodhue – 4
Especially quiet in the first half but started to become more prominent on attack in the second 40, carting the ball up in the midfield. Was brushed aside by Simone on the way to his second try and was then penalised for infringing at the breakdown shortly after. Braydon Ennor remains the better option at present. Off in 62st minute.
14. Sevu Reece – 6.5
Caught in no man’s land on defence for the Brumbies’ first try but was in the perfect position to score the Crusaders’ second try with a good chase. Generally chased with interest throughout the match, keeping the Brumbies under pressure at all times. Looked dangerous without every being able to cause too much chaos for the opposition.
15. Will Jordan – 7
Had a couple of yips very early in the match but came alive in the seventh minute with a break that eventually led to the Crusaders’ first score and grabbed one of his own late in the game off a Havili offload. Threw the pass in the 72nd minute that Wright nabbed out of the air en route to the try line. The biggest metre-eater for the Crusaders and similarly to Reece, looked threatening without ever regularly punishing the Brumbies.
Reserves:
16. Ricky Jackson – 6
On at halftime. Continued Taylor’s strong form at the lineout and was generally tidy around the park.
17. Finlay Brewis – 5
On in 57th minute. Kept up the standards at scrumtime. Scorched by Tom Banks in a midfield linebreak in the 75th minute.
18. Tamaiti Williams – 6.5
On in 63rd minute. Quickly got involved with his carrying game.
19. Liam Hallam-Eames – N/A
Not used.
20. Tom Christie – N/A
On in 70th minute. Managed seven tackles in his 10 minutes on the field and was always sniffing for a turnover.
21. Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi – N/A
On in 66th minute.
22. Braydon Ennor – 5
On in 61st minute. Misread the defensive situation at one stage, giving Simone an easy break in the midfield in the final minutes of the game. Wasn’t able to get his hands on the ball.
23. Leicester Fainga’anuku – 6
On in 50th minute. Unsurprisingly ran with vigour upon his introduction to the match and was safe under the high ball too in his one opportunity. Made an impression in the breakdowns, nabbing two steals late in the piece.
Comments on RugbyPass
🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
26 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
26 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
26 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
26 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
26 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to comments