'We were getting ready to kick pretty much straight after that penalty': Why the Crusaders failed to pull the trigger
In Wellington, barely a week ago, the Crusaders found themselves in a position where a drop goal would earn them a come from behind victory over the hometown Hurricanes.
After receiving the ball from a charge down inside the Hurricanes 22, it took the Crusaders just six phases to set up for and sink the game-winning drop kick.
They were in a similar position again on Saturday evening – behind by a point and hovering inside the Chiefs’ 22. Only this time, the drop kick never came.
While the Crusaders seemingly had a handful of opportunities to strike the fell blow, with Richie Mo’unga parked in the pocket, the forwards churned through the phases, eventually conceding a penalty after Chiefs lock Naitoa Ah Kuoi got his hands on the ball.
The penalty all but ended the contest – despite captain Scott Barrett challenging the call – and the Chiefs emerged 26-25 victors.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Aotearoa Rugby Pod, Crusaders halfback Bryn Hall has shed some light on what it was like to be on the park in those final moments of the match.
“It’s funny, hindsight’s a great thing,” the Super Rugby centurion said. “We were getting ready to kick pretty much straight after that penalty but that’s the risk you have.
“The week before, we probably went a little bit earlier and [against the Chiefs] we left it a phase too late and Ah Kuoi makes a great play, getting a turnover.
“You’ve just got be a little bit better, a little bit more ruthless. The week before we were and unfortunately in the weekend, it’s rugby, we weren’t able to get it back to Richie who was in the pocket, getting ready off that ruck.”
New Zealand sides – including the national team – have been criticised in the past for failing to utilise drop goals to win matches. Perhaps the most famous example is in the 2007 Rugby World Cup quarter-final against France, but there have been a number of examples in more recent years too.
This is uncharted waters for Scott Robertson… Which might say more about his incredible coaching ability than it does about the Crusaders' current situation ? #SuperRugbyAotearoa #CHIvCRUhttps://t.co/F7HrMSSTkV
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 18, 2021
Against South Africa in 2018, camped inside the Springboks 22, the All Blacks opted to spread the ball to the backs in an attempt to win the match but fullback Damian McKenzie had the ball stripped from his grasp as he neared the try line.
The Super Rugby sides have had more success, with Aaron Cruden nailing an important drop goal for the Chiefs against the Blues early last year while McKenzie and Bryn Gatland traded kicks in the Highlanders’ last-minute win in the opening round of Super Rugby Aotearoa 2020.
David Havili’s successful kick against the Hurricanes in Wellington is, of course, the most recent example.
“I don’t want to be in those positions but in these derbies, these teams – especially the Chiefs – they’re fighters,” Hall said on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod. “They go to the 80th minutes and that’s what they did in the weekend.
“If we find ourselves where we’ve got to go into a drop goal, we’ve got to be better at that breakdown, which was probably the losing of the game, not getting that breakdown and that last breakdown penalty by Ah Kuoi.”
Under Davie Rennie's first two years in charge, the Chiefs played 20 matches that were decided by seven points or fewer, winning 15. Contrast that with 2020, when the Chiefs lost all six of their close encounters. #SuperRugbyAotearoa #CHIvCRUhttps://t.co/Ma6dVWbJ7H
— The XV Rugby (@TheXV) April 19, 2021
Hall confirmed that the intention had been to take a kick in the phase prior to conceding the penalty but that a strong challenge at the breakdown would have given Mo’unga less time and space to operate.
“Before that ruck, they did a good counter … and so the ball’s a little bit slow and so the defensive line are a bit better set and probably knew that Richie was in the back and so we wanted to go another ruck to try and set it up a little bit better. And if we had gotten that ball out, it’s a better kicking angle as well but fair play to Ah Kuoi, he made a great play and won them the game in the moment.
“If we find ourselves in that position we just need to be a little bit better.”
Despite the loss, the Crusaders – who have just one remaining match regular season against the Blues – are still odds-on to host the competition final in three weeks’ time.
The Chiefs, meanwhile, still have to play the Hurricanes and the Blues and have now won their last four matches on the trot.
Listen to the latest episode of the Aotearoa Rugby Pod below:
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments