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'They'd be the favourites for sure': Crusaders halfback says rival Blues are frontrunners for title
The Blues won’t play their schedule opening round clash with Moana Pasifika this week, but will get to preview the other four Kiwi teams as they do battle in the opening round of Super Rugby Pacific over the weekend.
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The defending Trans-Tasman champions head into the season with a strong roster bolstered by high profile recruits after a successful off-season. According to Crusaders halfback Bryn Hall they are the favourites to take out the Super Rugby Pacific title.
Speaking on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod, the Crusader was prepared to put the Blues ahead of his own team after the Auckland-based franchise took home the last Super Rugby title up for grabs.
“The last game played in Super Rugby, the Blues were champions and won that game against the Highlanders at Eden Park,” Hall said.
“I think with the recruitment they have done, there has been a lot of hype. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck would probably be in that hype XV at second five definitely.
“Luke Romano is a massive signing for the Blues, especially with Patty Tuipulotu and Gerard Cowley-Tuioti going away. Defensively in line outs, I know how big he was for us at the Crusaders with being able to suss out plans, have preview and review around what that looks like.
“Just the whole team there as well, with Beaudy back, he’s back into 10, he’ll shift in there nicely and they’ve just got depth in every position.
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“Yes we’ve had success in the past and we are looking to replicate that and continue to grow and get better at that.
“But I think the Blues, if you are going to look at one team this year, they’d be the favourites for sure.”
The Crusaders will open their quest for six titles in six years without their star first five Richie Mo’unga, who is sitting out the opening rounds of the season. That places extra responsibility on Fergus Burke and Simon Hickey to step up and guide the team who were seen during the pre-season.
With a close first hand look at the other 10s, Hall says they have impressed so far in pre-season and will be ready to fill the void left by their All Black 10.
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Hall likened the Crusaders situation at first five similar to that of the Chiefs, who are without Damian McKenzie and have a mixture of talent and experience with Josh Ioane, Bryn Gatland, Kaleb Trask and Rivez Reihana.
“I think both of our 10s have been great,” Hall said, “I think Ferg [Burke] has been around the environment now for three years, he’s been under Richie and learning off him for a couple of years.
“Being able to have a full Mitre 10 cup NPC under his belt last year leading that Canterbury team set him up nicely this pre-season.
“Bringing in the likes of Simon Hickey who is an experienced campaigner, he’s played in different environments, different countries, and coming back to New Zealand, his experience has been great.
“It’s very similar to the situation around the 10s at the Chiefs.”
Hall will have to compete for game time with Crusaders new halfback Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, another capped All Black who has joined the side from the Chiefs. The position group has benefited in multiple ways as a result of Tahuriorangi joining the club he said.
“Trips [Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi] has been awesome, I got to spend time with him in the Maori’s camp. He’s just really cheeky and brings a great enthusiasm, something different for our group, especially culturally with that Maori mana he brings,” he said.
“We are very fortunate down south here, we have three great nines battling it out. We all have different strengths and different experience. Trips brought something else that Drummond and myself have been able to learn off.
“I think that is best thing about our group of halfbacks, even when Ere Enari was here as well, yes we are competitors and we want to compete against each other but anytime we can try to connect and evolve our games as a three, as a unit, it’s only going to better the overall group.
“We pride ourselves on trying to be the best in country, having the three best 9s in the country.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Good 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.
16 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.
7 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.
16 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?
4 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.
4 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.
26 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 🤐
16 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….
26 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….
16 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….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
16 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
16 Go to comments