- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder needs to be sacked. Not because of their two losses at home; they normally lose their first two or three games of the season.
It’s partly down to poor team selection; the decision to drop Israel Dagg after game one was more ordinary than a sober night on a Friday.
Dagg dominated the stats against the Chiefs in running metres and carries, and for his efforts gets dropped for game two, leaving hooker Corey Flynn to pick up the slack and run the second-most metres for the Crusaders, together with another forward, Kieran Reid.
Backs, not forwards, are meant to do the running. It’s simple mathematics and physics in glorious union.
Also, allowing Robbie Fruean to leave the squad last year was like putting a 12-year-old in charge of a forklift; you just wouldn’t do it.
Much more than this, it’s the manner in which the team has made a habit out of capitulation.
It’s been a gradual process; like age creeping up on a man, you don’t notice it at first, until at some point you find you’ve got grey hair, grandchildren and a head full of memories.
Against the Blues last week there were a couple of line breaks, yet none of the vintage runners either side of the man.
None of the clinical finishing, the pinpoint goal-kicking, the dominance at set pieces.
The talent is in the squad; there’s more All Blacks in this team than cylinders in a Bugatti Veyron. But the ginseng isn’t.
There’s probably something to be said for the idea that if the Crusaders don’t win the Super Rugby competition, half of them could say, “Well, we’ve got the Bledisloe Cup to look forward to.”
Either way, they need a cultural change to bring them back to the glory days.
Crazy thought, but isn’t Robbie Deans in need of a gig?
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.