'Like they had our playbook': Crusaders reveal title-winning lineout secret
If the Blues were to have any chance of besting the Crusaders at Eden Park in Saturday’s Super Rugby Pacific final, they needed to start by at least getting the basics right at the set-piece.
So often a strength for the Auckland-based side this year, the Blues have become known for their strong set-piece thanks to the presence of a number of All Blacks in the pack coupled with some seasoned pros running the lineout.
It wasn’t to be, however, with the Blues’ scrum and lineout falling to pieces against a hungry Crusaders unit that never failed to challenge Blues ball and disrupt possesion.
The Blues finished the match with just a 47 per cent success rate at lineout time, conceding 10 of their 19 deliveries against the head. While the scrum looked to have the upper hand in the first half, any semblance of dominance caved in the final quarter after some exceptional work from Crusaders replacements Tamaiti Williams and Fletcher Newell, who well and truly got the better of the far more experienced combo of All Blacks Karl Tu’inukuafe and Ofa Tuungafasi.
“We obviously encountered a very good Crusaders side that piled on a lot of pressure and we just weren’t able to get our game going, which was hugely frustrating,” said Blues coach Leon MacDonald following the eventual 21-7 defeat.
“They were able to steal a lot of our lineout ball, they put pressure on at the scrum and the breakdown – three key areas to winning any game, let alone a final.
“We were unable to play the way we wanted to play and they have obviously been in a few finals and they knew how to do it well, and they did.”
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Stand-in Blues captain and first five-eighth Beauden Barrett added that without any regular front-foot ball, it was difficult for his side to really build into the match.
“They certainly had a strategy to sort us out at set-piece time, they certainly put us under a lot of pressure and spoiled our tempo and flow that we like to play,” he said.
“It was frustrating we couldn’t get into our game and whenever we did get going, it was sort of not on our terms. We were forced to make a bit of stuff up.
“We’ve got to give them credit. Their defence was impressive and good enough to win it tonight.”
Such was the lineout dominance – with the likes of hookers Kurt Eklund and Soane Vikena, and number one lineout target Tom Robinson all struggling under pressure from the magnificent Sam Whitelock – that MacDonald mused it was almost as if the Crusaders knew their calls and strategies right from the get-go.
“They got up like they had our playbook,” he said. “They were reading our plays and causing a lot of trouble there. We tried variations and we just weren’t able to get quality ball to launch off.
“The scrum was sort of similar too, really. We had some dominance for a little bit and then they were able to come back and apply dominance.”
Crusaders captain Scott Barrett revealed that his side had always planned to try disrupt the Blues’ ball – especially thanks to the wet weather forecast for Saturday night – and that his troops had put in some extra work during the week in order to get the upper hand over their northern rivals.
“Finals footy is a game about pressure and that’s something we talked about this week,” he said following the victory. “If we could pressure their set-piece – their scrum was dominant at times, particularly throughout this season, and we had to muscle up there – and at the lineout, we saw a few opportunities there if we could just get up in the air, [especially with] greasy ball, we could accumulate some pressure and we did that pretty well.
“I think we had a clear plan. We put a lot of time into it, meeting on the day off and throwing out ideas with (reserve lock) Quinten Strange and (forwards coach) Jason Ryan behind the scenes and putting a lot of work into that. We got the reward tonight, which was pleasing.”
The Crusaders scored two tries to the Blues’ one, with flyhalf Richie Mo’unga adding 11 points off the tee courtesy of a conversion, two penalties and a drop goal. While the Blues’ late score to Finlay Christie (off the back of a Crusaders error at the back of a scrum deep inside their own 22) gave the Blues some semblance of hope, the Crusaders eventually snuffed it out and finished up as deserved – and comprehensive – winners.
The Blues clearly struggled to penetrate with the ball in hand – not once heading into the final had they scored fewer than two tries in any game throughout the season – but the matter of the fact was that they had few opportunities to build momentum, few opportunities to test out the Crusaders’ defence and few opportunities to really put up much of a contest against the red and black machine thanks to their continual struggles at the set-piece.
MacDonald summed up the match nicely:
“10 missed lineouts is hard to live off. It’s as simple as that really.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The game was a quarter final, not a semi final. Barrett will be here for 6 months, he is no one's replacement at 13. That mantle will most likely ultimately go to Jamie Osborne, though Garry Ringrose has at least 4 more years in him. The long term problem position (in the next 3 years) for Leinster is tighthead prop, though there are a couple of prospects at schools level.
21 Go to commentsSo much for all that hype surrounding the ‘revival’ of Aussie rugby. The Blues were without the likes of regular starters Perofeta, Sullivan, Christie etc… This was a capitulation of the highest order by Australia’s finest. Joe Schmidt definitely has his work cut out for him.
2 Go to commentsYes they can ignore Sotutu. Like Akira Ioane plays OK at Super level but gets lost in tests. Too many chances too many failures.
2 Go to commentsA wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
12 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
12 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
5 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
25 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
5 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
37 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
37 Go to comments