1
How Rob Penney is planning for the post 'godfather of the Crusaders' era
Scott Robertson has masterminded a historic winning period in Super Rugby history, his promotion to All Blacks coach has left mighty big shoes to fill for the incoming Crusaders coach, Rob Penney.
ADVERTISEMENT
Penney joins the club in a transition period, farewelling their most successful coach as well as some of their all-time greatest players.
Given the departures, expectations for the Crusaders in 2024 are mixed. But considering their history of finding the next world-class talent and competing in the championship stages, tolerance for anything short of a legit finals push is likely to be short-lived.
“How do you get better than that,” Penney said on The Platform, reflecting on Scott Robertson’s era of dominance. “Well, you don’t try, do you? If we can have consistency and we can emulate, then that will be pretty special.”
Penney will inherit the expectations but also a squad ripe with potential. The Crusaders’ legendary talent development pathways have again worked their magic and identified the next crop of Super Rugby stars, some of whom can be found representing New Zealand in the upcoming U20 World Championship.
“there’s a couple of transitioning people that have been highly influential, and this is no disrespect to anybody in fact it’s probably the other way I hope, with Sammy (Whitelock) and Richie (Mo’unga) moving on and their influence in that group, it just can’t be understated.
“There’s some fantastic young men ready and wanting to have an opportunity to establish themselves in those two critical leadership positions. That may take a little bit of time.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I guess the godfather of the Crusaders in Sam Whitelock as he’s been for the last 12 or so years and the pivot, probably the best pivot in the world in Richie Mo’unga. You don’t replace those overnight.
“But, in saying that, they’ve done a great job, succession planning there has been tremendous, and there’s young men ready to take over and some of them have spent a bit of time in the saddle which is good.
“There’ll be an expectation of a continuation of success, and that’s great because that drives us all to get better. And if we have a Japanese philosophy which is kaizen, which is a consistent improvement, then hopefully the results will come on the back of that.”
Comments on RugbyPass
ABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
225 Go to commentsWould’ve, could’ve, should’ve, didn’t.
225 Go to commentsKok will become a fan favourite
1 Go to commentsI am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
1 Go to commentsIf he had stopped insisting on playing in the backrow, instead of wing, where everyone told him he should, he would have been a Bok years ago….
11 Go to comments‘Salads don’t win scrums’ 😂 I love that.
19 Go to commentsCan’t wait for the article that talks about misogyny in Ireland. Somehow.
16 Go to commentsI would like to see a rule change, when the attacking team is held up over the try line, by allowing the defensive team to restart a goal line drop out releases the pressure for the defensive team, but what if the attacking team had to restart a tap 5m out from the defensive team it gives the attacking team to apply more pressure, there are endless options for the attacking side and it will keep the fans in suspence.
2 Go to commentsLess modern South African males predictably triggered.
16 Go to commentsMy heart is with Quins, but the head is convinced Toulouse have too much. Ntamack is back, his timing and wisdom has been missed.
1 Go to commentsWow, what a starting line up for the Sharks) Tasty up front,kremer vs Tshituka or venter …fiery ,,Lavannini ,,will he knobble etzebeth? Biggest game for belleau?
1 Go to commentsIt was rubbish to watch, Blues weren’t even present. Did what they had to do, nothing more. Should be better next week against canes.
1 Go to commentsI’ve just noticed that this match has an all-French refereeing team. Surely a game like this ought to have a neutral ref? Although looking at the BBC preview of the Saints game, Raynal is also down as reffing that - so there may be some confusion about who is reffing what.
1 Go to commentsIf Havili can play anywhere in the back line, why not first 5. #10.
11 Go to commentsThe dressing room had already left for their summer break before they ran out in Dublin that year, and that’s on the coach. Franco Smith has undoubtedly made progress, particularly their maul, developing squad players and increasing squad depth. And against a very tight budget too. That said they were too lightweight last year and got found out against both Toulon and Munster in consecutive games. Better this season so far but they’ve developed something of a slow start habit occasionally, most notably losing at home to Northampton who played them at their own game. Play offs will ultimately show whether there has been tangible progress on last year, or not…!
2 Go to commentsAustralian Rugby has been a disaster, by not incorporating learning from previous successful campaigns. QLD Reds 2011 - Waratahs 2014. Players, coaches and administrators appoint there representatives for scheduled meetings, organisation’s agreement’s assessments and correspondence. This why a unified Rugby Union under one entity works. Every Rugby nation has taken that path. Was most difficult in the Northern hemisphere with over 100 years of club rugby before the game become professional. Took a lot of humility for those unions to eventually work together.
7 Go to commentsThough Wilson’s sacking was pretty brutal, it wasn’t just down to that Leinster game; Glasgow had a lot of 2nd half collapses that season, in the URC and Europe, and only just scraped into the playoffs. Franco Smith has definitely been an improvement, some players are delivering far more than they did under Wilson.
2 Go to commentsjesus - that front 5!
1 Go to commentsShould be an absolute cracker of a game! Will be great to see DuPont & Ntamack in tandem once again🔥
1 Go to commentsBest team ever…. To have played? These guys are still pressure chokers. Came nowhere when it counted. What a joke
84 Go to comments