Crusaders banking on new era of loose forwards after haemorrhaging experience
The Crusaders created a dynasty between 1998 and 2011 when they won seven Super Rugby titles.
The wheels fell off a little bit after Robbie Deans left to take up a role with the Wallabies but Scott Robertson’s appointment in 2017 saw instant success.
The red and black machine has now reasserted themselves as Super Rugby’s top dogs with three championships on the trot.
Robertson wasn’t the only change at the franchise, however.
Since the former player’s appointment, he’s brought in a range of talented players that have had key roles in the Crusaders’ success.
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2017 saw Mitchell Dunshea, Bryn Hall and George Bridge make their debuts. 2018 and 2019 saw the introduction of Billy Harmon, Braydon Ennor, Will Jordan and Sevu Reece.
These fresh young talents have helped propel the Crusaders back to the top of the table – but that’s not to say that the older legion haven’t played an important part in the franchise’s success.
All Blacks Kieran Read, Sam Whitelock, Matt Todd, Owen Franks, Israel Dagg and Ryan Crotty have been key cogs for the Crusaders over the last decade – and all six of those players will be absent in 2020.
In fact, across the board, the Crusaders have lost influential men.
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At the end of a World Cup cycle, it’s become common to see older players move on to more financially rewarding roles. The Crusaders, who have always provided a handy number of men to the national side, have been the hardest hit of New Zealand’s franchises.
Along with the previously mentioned six, the Crusaders will have to cope without Tim Perry, Ben Funnell, Jordan Taufua, Mitchell Hunt and Tim Bateman next year.
As any good team should, the Crusaders have been preparing for the losses, filtering through young talent players throughout the years to help them adjust to the level required for Super Rugby.
Still, no matter the quality of those succession plans, they won’t make up for the 1100-plus caps that have headed offshore.
@CrusadersRugby have unveiled a new logo ahead of the 2020 @SuperRugby season.https://t.co/fJAHXHUITr#SuperRugby
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Perhaps the fast-developing Andrew Makalio can cover for Ben Funnell and Samoan international Michael Alaalatoa can step into Frank’ shoes – and there’s plenty of talent across the backline to cover the likes of Hunt, Crotty and Dagg, but it’s in the loose forwards where the Crusaders may struggle in 2020.
In Read, Todd and Taufua, the Crusaders have lost a loose forward trio averaging over 130 caps. No team in the competition can even come close to competing with that experience and regardless of the potential of the players that will stepping into the vacated roles in 2020, there’s going to be a noticeable drop.
Only a year prior, the Crusaders also lost Pete Samu – now a Wallaby – and Heiden Bedwell-Curtis, who showing a surprisingly good turn of form for the Crusaders but then struggled to earn any game-time at the Hurricanes.
The net result is that the Crusaders have four players on their books in 2020 who will be entering their debut season of Super Rugby: Tom Christie, Cullen Grace, Ethan Roots and Sione Havili.
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There’s plenty to like about the new quartet, who will make no doubt make up for their lack of experience with youthful exuberance.
Christie, former captain of Shirley Boys’ High School, spent two years in the New Zealand Under 20 side and is one of the most promising openside flankers in the country. Robertson will be hopeful that Christie can showcase the same sort of skills that made the likes of Todd and Richie McCaw such exceptional players.
Grace, who captained the Timaru Boys’ first XV, spent his formative years in the second row but will likely be called upon to cover the blindside flank due to the logjam of talent that the Crusaders still have in the locks, despite Whitelock’s departure. Grace is yet to play a game of provincial rugby.
The Crusaders could have made a statement as a force for good. They didn't, writes Hamish Bidwell. https://t.co/biMHQKKaqG
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 5, 2019
Roots, who has travelled south from North Harbour, was the top tackler in the 2019 Mitre 10 Cup, with 144 to his name. Roots can cover both blindside flanker and number 8 and could find himself thrust into a starting role early thanks to the departure of Read as well as the early-season absence of Ethan Blackadder, who has undergone shoulder surgery.
That leaves Havili, who earned one cap for the Blues in 2018. The Tasman flanker was one of the Mitre 10 Cup premier’s best players throughout their successful campaign – which is saying something, considering the talented loose forwards they had at their disposal. Havili was awarded the Golden Boot award in 2016 as the nation’s top schoolboy player and could be used anywhere in the Crusaders’ loose forward trio, though shone out on the openside flank for Tasman.
With 22-year-old Roots the oldest of the four, the Crusaders will be heavily dependant on the experience of the loosies that have remained with the team from 2019 – but even that doesn’t push the average age up much.
28-year-old Whetu Douglas is comfortably the oldest of the lot, with Tom Sanders, Billy Harmon and Ethan Blackadder all 25 or younger.
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All-in-all, the Crusaders’ loose forward trio of yesteryear is long gone, which could make things tricky for season’s champions when the competition kicks off at the end of the month.
Regardless, Scott Robertson will have plenty of faith in his inexperienced charges and clearly knows how to get the best out of young players, having coached the New Zealand Under 20 side for two years.
The 2020 Crusaders may not resemble the team of old, but you’d be foolish to write off their chances simply due to the freshness of the loose forwards. In their new recruits, they have players with boundless potential, while their slightly more wizened players have served their apprenticeships well.
The Kieran Read era may be over, but that doesn’t mean the Crusaders dynasty will come to an end.
WATCH: The Crusaders were very close to losing head coach Scott Robertson to the national set-up.
Comments on RugbyPass
NZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
22 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
22 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.
22 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.
22 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?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
22 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
28 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
22 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
90 Go to comments