Crusaders clinch Kiwi cracker
The Crusaders hung on for a 26-19 win over the Chiefs in a fast-paced match in Hamilton.
It was a typical display by the Chiefs and an atypical performance by the Crusaders that made for an erratic but entertaining match. The Chiefs looked to play at a lively tempo, forgoing the formalities of lineouts in an attempt to catch the normally solid Saders defensive line unawares. The Crusaders responded with some impressive counter-attacking movements, but will be concerned with their inconsistent showing on defence.
A clamour of cowbells accompanied Stephen Donald’s second penalty as the Chiefs started brilliantly into the wind. They seemed to have tightened their approach and their defence were focused on the source of the Crusaders’ power – Dan Carter. But the opening minutes were no sign of things to come, as the hosts reverted to their unstructured style moments later.
A quick lineout in their own 22 was turned over, and a sustained build-up culminated in a linebreak by Crusaders fullback Jared Payne. Scrumhalf Kahn Fotuali’i was outstanding in support, and the Crusaders took the lead against the run of play.
The Chiefs’ lineout struggled with Aled de Malmanche failing to find his jumpers regularly. Their scrum was also outplayed, and they were turned over at the breakdown far too often. Their tendency to commit the bare minimum at ruck time meant they were often isolated, and one such turnover led to Fotuali’i’s second try. The Crusaders broke down the short side and again it was the scrumhalf’s support running that resulted in reward.
The Crusaders were equally poor at the lineout, and while Ti’i Paulo is good in the loose, he’s a liability at this set-piece. Their defence was uncharacteristically porous. They were able to snuff a Brendon Leonard break early in the first half, but a powerful surge by Colin Bourke paid dividends for the Chiefs. The ball floated to Donald who found Richard Kahui with a neat offload, and with one defensive lapse the hosts were back in the match.
Carter kicked a penalty to extend the Saders’ lead to 23-16, an advantage they managed to retain going into the shed. The three-pointer took Carter past Andrew Mehrtens as the second-highest point scorer in Super Rugby, the first being the Brumbies’ Stirling Mortlock. Two conversions and four penalties saw Carter end the match on 996 points.
The All Blacks pivot missed another difficult attempt just after half-time, but the Crusaders’ relentless march toward the Chiefs’ line proved fruitful in the 54th minute. At 26-16, the Crusaders had established a comfortable cushion, but their approach was still too erratic.
The wet conditions and importance of this match would necessitate a territory based approach. The Chiefs were trying to run everything out of their own half, and their set-piece was struggling. All the Crusaders needed to do was kick for field-position and apply the squeeze.
But the Crusaders’ own lineout woes continued, replacement Corey Flynn faring little better than Paulo with the feed. They couldn’t control the ball through the phases either, several promising surges into the red zone undone by elementary errors. When they finally did manage to keep it with the forwards and slow the game down, they conceded a penalty at the ensuing 5m scrum.
A long-range penalty by Donald set up a thrilling final six minutes, and a missed drop attempt by Carter handed the Chiefs one last opportunity. They managed to play themselves into a position where they had a scrum 7m from the Crusaders line, but were subsequently penalised for a front-row infringement.
Coach Todd Blackadder will argue an away-win is massive, but a close analysis of the match footage will reveal that the Saders’ shortcomings cost them a bonus point. The Crusaders won’t have it so easy against teams with better defensive lines and set-piece structures.
By Jon Cardinelli
March 12th, 2010 at 10:13 am
stop yacking people and give me the final score PLEAAAAASSSSSSEEEEE!
March 12th, 2010 at 10:13 am
@Black Panther: Warlords…I loved that game..
March 12th, 2010 at 10:16 am
26-19 final score Saders…
March 12th, 2010 at 10:18 am
Black Panther
Lagavulin indeed you are a man of rare taste and refinement..
March 12th, 2010 at 10:18 am
High quality fast paced game.
March 12th, 2010 at 10:18 am
Damn it – would have loved a draw! Well done Saders in any event. Bah!
March 12th, 2010 at 10:18 am
@poppa69: OH POPPA THANK YOU! WHOOOOOOOOP! MY SADERS WON! YEAH YEAH YEAH (doing a dance).
March 12th, 2010 at 10:21 am
Carter is looking good again…. and it shows in this Crusaders team.
March 12th, 2010 at 10:22 am
@rossoneri:
if only the other rossoneri could play like the Crusaders, after what happened on wednesday, they should be called Orlando Pirates
March 12th, 2010 at 10:23 am
Dammit!
March 12th, 2010 at 10:30 am
Morrnin Chaps!!!
Who do u guys reckon gonna replace Brussouw in the bok line up?
March 12th, 2010 at 10:30 am
@gunther: @54
nectar of the Gods indeed.
the distillery is rather special too. Whilst all the **** pour off the buses in to Glenfiddich and Srathisla (they love that Chivas !) the Scots content themselves with the ‘real McCoy’ oop the road at Islay. Make your way there 1 day, abso superb.
March 12th, 2010 at 10:31 am
@Storm outta hell: @52
LOTR – aka the wolfs-head battering ram.
March 12th, 2010 at 10:32 am
@rossoneri:
The score is at the top of the page.
March 12th, 2010 at 10:34 am
@mxhosa: Very true. Alexander Pato was sorely missed.
@Dawn: The keo people are always late. But Poppa helped me out.
March 12th, 2010 at 10:35 am
another home loss for chiefs. its all going backwards this year.
March 12th, 2010 at 10:38 am
@rossoneri:
OK
Now we can continue yacking!
March 12th, 2010 at 11:29 am
Crusaders certainly look a stronger threat without that pithy piece of poop at 9, Ellis.
March 12th, 2010 at 11:34 am
@Black Panther: Yep,they do… but I still don’t see them winning a semi @ Loftus..!!
March 12th, 2010 at 11:41 am
There’s something dodgy in the peroxide in Pretoria.
I wonder how the Bulls’hit will flow when a neutral ref grabs the whistle on the veldt
March 12th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
Grond, Hammer of the Underworld.
Called the Hammer of the Underworld, Morgoth’s mighty mace that he bore when he slew Fingolfin before the doors of Angband.
This 2000 years before Frodo drew a breathe of air.
March 12th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
@cane: Grond Smash..!!
March 12th, 2010 at 3:26 pm
@cane:
probably the same as 2009?
March 12th, 2010 at 8:05 pm
@rossoneri:
It is good to know that after this weekend the bulls will be top of the log again, and still have a game in hand.
Nice to be a Bulls supporter
March 13th, 2010 at 12:38 am
Mark Lawrence has a shocker imo. Too many calls favoured the Saders. they had numerous knock ons that Lawrence called as straight down. it was a bizarre performance. also felt the scrum calls were guess work.
normally a massive fan of Lawrence as he is measured and composed in tense games and gets call reasonably right. but last night i thought he barely got a 60% mark.
tough on the chiefs as they struggled to get into the game.
saders always looked the better team, so not saying the result would have been different, just that Lawrence didnt do well.
mccaw is taking his sweet time in getting amongst it from the blindside. his influence is minimal at the moment. expect him to turn it up a notch in a few weeks.
March 13th, 2010 at 6:52 am
@Tomsta: Yes I have always thought Lawrence the superior of all South African refs. He had a shocker.
Travel for refs must be a problem too. In all fairness this guy has been racking up his Frequent Flyer points at a rate of knots; from 6n to S14 takes it’s toll.
McCaw is working into the game quite nicely, he has doubled his effort on the previous week and should start hitting his straps in two more matches. Nursing this guy back is the way to go.