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Former Crusader crowns Blues star the best performance of round 10
Justin Marshall’s Crusaders may have secured a critical win in dominant fashion against the Rebels in Christchurch over the weekend, but when picking his most impressive performer of round 10 in Super Rugby Pacific, the Canterbury great bypassed his cherished club’s personnel in favour of another Kiwi star.
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There were plenty of standout performances in round 10, including no shortage of standout players for the Crusaders as the defending champions clawed themselves off the bottom of the table thanks to the return of captain Scott Barrett among a host of other changes in the team’s lineup.
Elsewhere in Super Rugby Pacific, Quinn Tupaea was trying to run a marathon with the ball in hand for the Chiefs, Taniela Rakuro was scoring left and right for the Drua, and Reds young gun Tim Ryan shocked the Blues with a hat-trick within the space of 14 minutes.
Marshall however opted to select an All Black who made a game-changing impact off the bench for the Blues that helped finish off a comeback that overcame Ryan’s exploits.
“This is going to seem a little bizarre and I’m happy for challenges, we hopefully won’t have time for me to take those challenges on,” Marshall laughed when speaking to SENZ. “Because people will go what the hell? How have you chosen this guy?
“Caleb Clarke; I challenge anybody to challenge me because if you watch his introduction to that game last night, for the 25 or so minutes that he was in that game, the differences that he made, including the break that set up Sam Nock for the try that won the game, he was simply outstanding.
“When you are fighting to win a game, you need a game changer, that game changer can come off the bench and I thought the work Caleb Clarke did, not only defensively but on attack, the linebreak, setting up the last try, the pick and go’s, the energy that he showed, that’s what you want when you go to your bench for a player that’s capable of opening the game up, to change the game, and he did that.
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“So, he’s my Player of the Round.”
Clarke’s form has certainly improved in 2024, having famously decided to drop eight kilograms for the campaign in search of a new edge.
Despite only appearing off the bench in the 50th minute, Clarke led his team in linebreaks and defenders beaten in addition to delivering the game-winning try assist.
The winger was involved in the All Blacks‘ 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign, operating as Blues teammate Mark Tele’a’s understudy on the left wing throughout the tournament.
Also nominated for the honour of Player of the Round was Crusaders No. 8 Christian Lio-Willie, who re-entered the starting XV in a reshuffled loose forward trio that saw Cullen Grace move to blindside flanker and Ethan Blackadder slot into the No. 7 jersey.
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Lio-Willie was a leading figure in the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season in terms of carries, despite being utilised off the bench and only starting during the injury absence of Grace.
Returning from an injury himself in round nine’s loss to the Western Force, the 25-year-old impressed off the bench and was subsequently promoted. Lio-Willie led the game in line breaks (three), turnovers won (two), and tries (two) while appearing in the top five in numerous other statistical categories.
Comments on RugbyPass
The game was changing too much with teams trying to role the dice drawing fouls. Would be better if scrums and the adjudicating problems were resolved but this is a good immediate fix.
37 Go to commentsLike many here I am encouraged by this post. Our forwards are where the real rewards and improvements must come from. With a 50/50 pack against any opposition, our backs could ensure more than 50% of the games will be won. We need Valetini at 6 and Cale at 8 to make the most or a good tight 5, McWright will add to the effectiveness of the pack BUT must get a very good tight 5 out there first.
97 Go to commentsThe key point I think that is missing is that if Joseph wants to guarantee a Lions spot, he really has to play wing in his first year. He is easily going to nail down whatever he wants to do, but with just half a season, how much of a factor he proves to be in the Lions series could be dictated by this initial choice of playing position.
8 Go to commentsthe game was 2 weeks before the challenge cup final. I really don’t believe they needed to rest that many players.
1 Go to commentsI really feel like neither of the Vunipolas is given the respect they deserve. I would have liked to see both of them get a few more caps than they have gotten in the past couple of years, but unfortunately the fact that they both peaked young has meant that for a number of years they have been perceived as disappointments. When they are both retired, in the cold light of day they will be recognised as two of the best players of their generation of any nation.
2 Go to commentsthis generation of saracens players could produce some really incredible coaches. When Farrell retires he could walk into any premiership team as a defence, attack, or kicking coach. Itoje could make it as a defence or a lineout coach, and Jamie George as a lineout or scrum coach. The problem the Vunipolas are going to have is that its not clear what their coaching speciality would be. Neither are great in the set piece, and while they were good in attack and defence, they were never tactical masterminds. Perhaps contact skills would be their ideal brief? Mako perhaps could work in strength & conditioning, but Billy has a bit of a reputation for not taking that side of the game seriously.
2 Go to commentsA very good player.We are finally getting some balance in our team. Plummer..Heem ..Lam a solid..experienced combo who take the sensible options consistently. Clarke was a grt impact of the bench option until Lam moved to 13 to replace an injured Reiko. Cotter is doing a grt job building his team. .
1 Go to commentsSaturday was last straw. Terrible record in Premiership since Jan 23. Capitulation against Bath at home. There are 3 conclusions. Players aren't good enough. Coaching team aren't good enough or combination of both.
2 Go to commentsAs you say in your article Brett, the point was Hamish and his vanity - plain and simple. The crazy bit is that sua’ali’i has to be probably twice the player of mark N, no easy feat, just for RA to get their money's worth!?! And as you say, tahs aren't short of wingers, props on the other hand id like to see $1.6m spent on. I still shake my head at the absolute carry on in the media and comments section around the boon of getting sua’ali’i and the revenue it'd generate. It was all such hogwash imo and short sighted, real sugar hit stuff. And wasnt Waugh (and others) on the board at the time this money was spent? You say silver bullet, I'd say sugar hit but without the flavour.
8 Go to commentsNZR should play hard all a bit with some of these players and make them sign up to the next world cup. If they won’t, offer it to someone who will. Because what happens is the NH (especially France) swoop on a bunch of nz players coming off contract, weakening their depth, and nz scrambles less than 2 years out trying to get replacements up to speed.
1 Go to commentsNo thanks. Savea almost always leaves easy points out there and goes for the corner, no matter how many times it’s not working. He claimed he took “the learnings” from this when he kept making the same mistake against the Boks a few years ago. Then went out the very next week and did the same thing and SA snatched victory because of it. Years later he still does it, right up to and including the world cup final. Great player, not so great rugby nous.
10 Go to commentsIt certainly wasn't a rhetorical masterpiece coming from big E …. (just as a side remark: Eben is the better player, Siya by far the better talker - maybe that's why they don't seem to like each other very much) …. but could we please move on?
63 Go to commentsMan who wasn't there and hasn't held a conversation with those who were present weighs in on dead rubber debate and is presented as representative of the Irish Rugby Union’s spokesperson on subject he has no apparent knowledge of whatsoever.
63 Go to commentsanybody who bends at the waist when they tackle
4 Go to commentsThe evidence is not strong that this is necessary. Mounga choked on clutch kicks in the WRC final and lost the match by not performing his core goal kicking role to the level required. He also choked in the Semi final against England and was targeted as the weak point in the defence allowing them to score. Not a test great frankly. Why bend the rules for a player that is competent but not brilliant at test level?
11 Go to commentsDear Robbie, Please return to the Crusaders next season. Sincerely, Scott
1 Go to commentsDid the big E call the Irish the ‘White Can’ts’? That would’ve been good
63 Go to commentsDalton Papalii will be lucky to be selected on the Matchday 23. Ardie Savea, Ethan Blackadder, Luke Jacobson, and Peter Lauki are all as good or better openside flankers
10 Go to commentsScott Barrett is a lock and they have a much longer shelf life than a loose forward. Far more likely that Barrett will still demand a starting position based on performance at age 33 at RWC 2027 than Savea, whose explosive athleticism will have declined and he will in all likelihood have been surpassed by Hoskins Sotutu, Wallace Siti, Peter Lauki and Brayden Iose.
10 Go to commentsExtremely frustrating to get yet more speculation over whether or not Eben actually counted 12 players or not, but honestly big respect to McCloskey for keeping it classy and not pointing out Etzebeth’s hypocrisy. The Irish are a popular team outside of Ireland because they do their talking on the pitch, and its honestly a PR masterclass that they’re keeping it that way following Etzebeth’s provocation.
63 Go to comments