Why the Chiefs get under Joe Moody's skin

All Blacks and Crusaders prop Joe Moody concedes the Chiefs are the one side that can get under the skins of the Crusaders.

The Chiefs – having lost two games so far in Super Rugby Aotearoa – will travel to Christchurch with extra intent to get one over on the Crusaders, who play their first home game of the season.

For Moody, no extra motivation is needed when facing the Chiefs, admitting that there’s some sort of “deep-seated hatred” between the teams.

The Sky Sports NZ team discuss all the action from Round 2 of Super Rugby Aotearoa and news from around the world.

The Sky Sports NZ team discuss all the action from Round 2 of Super Rugby Aotearoa and news from around the world.

“Nothing unusual for us to come up against a Chiefs side that is fired up,” Moody told NZME. “We’ll be ready for it. We’ll be having to bring our game faces as well.

“I don’t know whether it’s some sort of deep-seated hatred between us but me, personally, I’ve always had a bit of a chip on my shoulder with the Chiefs anyway.

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“I guess it’s part of the way they play and a little bit of a niggle and everything that they bring as well. I think it probably just makes everyone really want to go hard and put one over them.”

The Crusaders have won 17 out of 19 of their last matches against New Zealand sides, but both of the losses were to the Chiefs.

Aside from preparing for the weekend, Moody has also been adapting to rugby without scrums, if last week’s game was anything to go by.

“It was very interesting,” he said. “A bit different and unexpected, I guess. It changed the game because it made it a lot faster. And for me, personally, it was different because I wasn’t blowing my legs doing the scrums but at the same time I was getting it blown out from doing extra running. I’m not sure what’s worse. It’s just something to get used to going forward, I suppose.”

Luckily, Moody says he is feeling refreshed thanks to the long rugby shutdown period and lockdown.

“It’s refreshed me personally anyway, mentally and physically. So it’s actually been good in that aspect, I think.”