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Crusaders player ratings vs Hurricanes | Super Rugby Pacific

By Nick Turnbull
Will Jordan. (Photo by Martin Hunter/Photosport)

The Crusaders commenced their Super Rugby Pacific tournament with a 42–32 victory over the Hurricanes at a crowdless Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday night.

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Neither side played with the home town advantage yet it was the 2021 Super Rugby champions striking early through two impressive tries to the talented locomotive Leicester Fainga’anuku. However, they were lucky to go into the sheds 15-13 up as the men from the capital dominated the back end of the first half.

The second half was a similar affair with the Crusaders taking their opportunities early and appeared to have done enough to seal the result with Fainga’anuku again scoring but the Hurricanes came to play for the full 80 and toiled away for to take the eventual 10-point loss.

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Who will be crowned champions of the inaugural Super Rugby Pacific season?

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Who will be crowned champions of the inaugural Super Rugby Pacific season?

This is how the Crusaders rated:

1. Joe Moody – 7.5/10
A superb defensive effort coupled with a professional output at the set-piece. Showing no signs of his form of seasons past abating.

2. Brodie McAlister – 8
Played with a blend of what we have come to expect from a modern-day hooker, yet still managed to stir up memories of an old-fashioned South Island tight forward at the same time. Impressive work rate on both sides of the ball – exhaustive performance.

3. Oli Jager – 6.5
Impressed with his ball-handling skills and work as a distributor from the pod to the pocket. Was guilty of a couple of infringements that put pressure back onto his teammates.

4. Scott Barrett – 7
A solid Scott Barrett performance. If there is any issue, it is more with the captaincy in the first half as at one stage his side were leading the penalty count 6-1. His side were good, but the Hurricanes were also unlucky. Discipline must improve.

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5. Samuel Whitelock – 7
Got cooked at the first lineout which was unexpected. Worked his way back into the game quickly and contributed in the usual Sam Whitelock way.

6. Pablo Matera – 7
A very respectable start to his Crusaders career. Work hard on the right edge for much of the match and was staunch in defence. Needed to be more involved on attack, as we’ve become so accustomed to seeing for Los Pumas.

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7. Tom Christie – 8.5
An absolute workhorse, clocking up 25 tackles. Managed to slow down much of the Hurricanes ball but what really impressed was his defence and ability to get back up and push the second effort throughout.

8. Cullen Grace – 7
Does so much unheralded work off the ball. Almost plays like a grafting extra lock when required but then balances that with his running and catch pass game. Solid start.

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9. Bryn Hall – 7.5
How about that pass to Braydon Ennor of the scrum to set up Leicester Fainga’anuku second try down the left flank? Overall managed the game well and didn’t overplay his hand.

10. Fergus Burke – 6
Much to like but much to work on. The good was the gaps he identified and exploited, the bad was his imitation of but a small speed hump in defence. He just put a big target on his back and will need to improve his front-on D rapidly.

11. Leicester Fainga’anuku – 9
An absolute statement game from him. The three tries will be talked about, and rightly so, but he was immense at the try line defence as well. Not a lot to dislike about this performance.

12. David Havili – 6.5
Appeared to get a knock and didn’t really settle into the game. Still showed signs of his quality but appeared hampered by the hit. Better rugby to come.

13. Braydon Ennor – 7.5
A very solid performance on both sides of the ball. Exhausted himself in defence, making 17 tackles, but also managed to pop up at times, picking and driving from the base that caught the Hurricanes out. Intelligent player.

14. George Bridge – 7
Played with limited quality possession and had to operate coming off the back foot and or in limited space. But these efforts frustrated the opposition. Job done.

15. Will Jordan – 7
Probably outplayed Jordie Barrett in the battle of the 15s – but only just. Exciting and dangerous as ever in attack, but a little absent on defence.

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Reserves:

16. Shilo Klein – 6
A memorable debut, scoring a try near the final whistle.

17. George Bower – 7.5
Came on for the ‘George Bower Happy Hour’ and appeared to thoroughly enjoy his work tonight. Bulldozing in the scrum, running the wider channels and didn’t miss a beat in defence.

18. Tamaiti Williams – 6.5
Big unit who can move. Imagine the grocery bill! He copped a knock and toiled on. We’ll be seeing plenty more from him in the future.

19. Quinten Strange – 6.5
A fair impact with a few wobbles around the lineout, but balanced out with some quality set piece work as well. Building nicely.

20. Mitch Dunshea – 6
Didn’t see much but looked to up the tempo when he came and on looked for work. What more can you expect from a bench forward?

21. Mitch Drummond – 7
Nabbed a sneaky strip when the Hurricanes were on the attack. A fair show from him.

22. Simon Hickey – 6
Another Crusaders debut and looks like he will be a handy recruit for them. A steady set of eyes to rely upon.

23. Sevu Reece – 7
Worked hard off the ball and was solid under the high ball. As with George Bridge, it would have been good to see him in some more space. A solid start.

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Adrian 1 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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T
Trevor 4 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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