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'One's special, two's amazing but three, you're talking about having a dynasty'
The Crusaders are losing some of the biggest names in Super Rugby next year but it hasn’t dimmed their desire to keep collecting silverware.
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Picking apart the Jaguares 19-3 in Saturday’s tense final underlined the adaptability of the 10-time champions, having ditched their early ball-in-hand approach because it didn’t suit the slippery Christchurch conditions and the tough tackling of the South Americans.
They turned instead to their own smothering defence and a reliance on pinpoint box kicks from halfback Bryn Hall, which set up the game’s only try to Codie Taylor.
Hall, one of the few non-All Blacks in the starting team, said there is every reason to believe the Crusaders can build on their current streak of three titles, even with a raft of key players and coaches moving on.
“One’s special, two’s amazing but three, you’re talking about having a dynasty,” Hall said.
There were post-game farewells for Kieran Read, Owen Franks, Ryan Crotty and Jordan Taufua, along with assistant coaches Brad Mooar and Ronan O’Gara.
Skipper Sam Whitelock won’t be seen until the 2021 campaign while coach Scott Robertson may not be back if he succeeds Steve Hansen as All Blacks coach next year.
Losing the charismatic Robertson would be a hammer blow for the Crusaders but one which Read said could still be overcome.
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The All Blacks captain made his Super Rugby debut in 2007 and said the red and black formula will keep working, regardless of the personnel.
“We’re just really well set up from the top to the bottom of this organisation,” Read said.
“It’s just great fun to turn up and go to work, and put it out here on Friday and Saturday nights.”
Robertson said victory was satisfying because it capped a finals campaign in which they were fully tested, having earlier been pushed to stave off the attack-minded approach of the Highlanders and Hurricanes.
“It felt like the last three weeks have all been finals for us,” he said.
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“We played a different team tactically in the Jaguares. We probably over-played it in the first 20 so we talked about one-pass footy.
“Let’s get boring, let’s go old school. Plug them in the corners.”
The Crusaders maintained their historically perfect record in home playoff games, having notched 24 wins.
It also stretched their competition-record winning streak in Christchurch to 31 games.
– AAP
Comments on RugbyPass
Well you’ve made a proper tit of yourself, haven’t you! 😂
173 Go to commentsBen it's beyond their comprehension-
202 Go to commentsThanks Sam. Interesting read. Harder or easier for Parling to come into a completely new setup where performance was abysmal last time out? I’d suggest easier to be better but, as you suggest, will be a lot to do with how much latitude he’s granted. Hopefully all he needs. With hybrids like Holloway, Hannigan, Swinton and Leota as options at 6 we have the basics for a strong lineout. BPA returning means we have good options at 2 also with Faessler, Porecki and Uelese, although Jordan is a scrumming beast rather than a dart thrower. I’m typically a pessimist or realist but that’s never applied to the Wallabies
1 Go to commentsMad how this somehow contained absolutely zero information.
1 Go to commentsI’m looking forward to attending the Twickenham match, I don’t think it will have a bearing on the outcome of the grand prize itself but it will tell us more about each teams’ preparation and game plan. It’s hard to look past one of the big four (I’m including Canada) lifting the trophy in 2025 but sport is a curious thing, there will still be twists and turns in road ahead.
2 Go to commentsThe better side seems to be the losing side a lot these days. As far as narrative goes. Must be the big emergent culture of “participation awards” that have emerged in nanny states. ”It looked like New Zealand would take the game from there but lapses in execution let South Africa get back into the game. New Zealand’s goal kickers left five points out there, including a very make-able penalty on the stroke of half”. Sounds like a chronic problem… I wonder how the better team has lapses in concentration and execution? Or are those not important factors in the grand scheme of total performances? In 2023, the ABs at least didn’t give up a lead to lose. They just couldn’t execute to get the points and take the lead. This Baby AB result points to a choke - letting the game slip through your fingers. In the words of the great Ricky Bobby’s dad - “If you’re not 1st you’re last!” Loosely translated - if you didn’t win, you’re a loser.
9 Go to commentsWith Stuart Lancaster at the helm, Racing 92 looks more and more a mercenaries club like Toulon some years ago and they are not even performing despite all the money on offer.
4 Go to commentsCouple of things BS missed: wind was behind the Baby Blacks in the first half. Baby Boks got points from a scrum penalty in the final quarter against this ‘dominant pack’, and left three points on the park after a missed penalty.
9 Go to commentsSensible thoughts on this, Brett. Also worth considering we’ve sold 60k tickets for a game between the Rebels and the Lions next year. Got to be roughly $10m in ticket and game day revenue there.
5 Go to commentsUnsuccessful bitter ex Ulster player taking a pop shot at a side that isn't including his consistently poor mates up north
4 Go to commentsHis decision to play in France isn’t a petulant decision as this article suggests. I reckon that France is the perfect place to demonstrate that he can mix it in those battles Rassie references. It’s a good decision to try get into the squad. My personal opinion is that he wins more battles than he loses. I don’t have Rassie’s stats machine behind me, but Daymian’s is so strong moving through traffic and in the rip.
4 Go to commentsWow! Argie forward dominance is something I have not read in years….
1 Go to commentsIs the ‘snub’ really why he is leaving? He hasn’t said that has he? You don’t have to stay in SA to play for the Boks, so it’s not that he’s giving up on trying to get into the squad as the case would be in, say, England or New Zealand. Rassie made it clear that the early camps won’t feature all the players to play for the Boks this year so I can’t imagine Dayimani was too offended by being overlooked this time. It just seems like a sensationalist angle to take for a story without really knowing the player’s intentions.
4 Go to commentsWell, it is easily one of the best Irish sides, it’s just that their historical standard is very low.
4 Go to commentsThe Irish side is good. They have lost 2 games in the last 23 tests. In the last 12 months they have have a 60% win rate against the top 5 sides in the world. Over the same period south africa have a 67% win rate against the top 5 teams, and New Zealand are at 40%.
4 Go to commentsOnly 1247 days until RWC 2027 starts Bin Smuth🤣Can’t wait to see how unhinged you’re still gonna get between now & then
202 Go to commentsany chance either team will improve on their u20 world cup performances this time around? I assume both sides will be deeply disappointed with how things went.
6 Go to commentsAnother poor articles by a poor journo, nothing new from Ben, at least you are consistently bad lol, geez I will try and watch the match later, clearly Benny was only looking to one end of the pitch, hard to tell whom the Baby Blacks were playing if it wasn’t in the header 😄😄
9 Go to commentsNz should have won. I didn't watch the game, but the ref was at fault and the bounce of the ball and the Bokke used the Bomb squad and the Bokke slow the game down and the Bokke scrum. They should remove the scrum. The Bokke are to strong. Not fair. Nz should have won
9 Go to commentsProbably the worst article on a rugby match I have ever read
202 Go to comments