The NSW Waratahs know only too well the Crusaders love to feast on mistakes, but the defending Super Rugby champions insist they won’t be playing conservatively in Saturday’s clash of the 2014 finalists at ANZ Stadium.
The Waratahs will have to slash their inflated error rate of recent weeks if they are to topple the seven-time champions again and retain control of their finals destiny.
Their 33-18 scoreline against the Sharks at Allianz Stadium last Saturday flattered the titleholders, in a game where the hosts’ 12 handling errors and 18 turnovers offset Bernard Foley’s record-equalling 23-point haul.
That followed their shock 18-11 loss to wooden spoon candidates Western Force, a lacklustre performance punctuated by 20 turnovers to the Force’s seven.
Scrum-half Nick Phipps admits his side have a lot of work to do before this weekend’s showdown, citing the Crusaders’ 58-17 demolition of the Queensland Reds two weeks ago as all the proof needed.
“Knowing the Crusaders, they just prey on mistakes,” Phipps said.
“You saw what they did to the Reds off a few mistakes there and they made them pay.
“Other teams wouldn’t be able to capitalise so effectively on that.
“So we’ve got to be pretty good this week to make sure that we’re limiting those opportunities on turnover ball and the mistakes made.”
With the Brumbies sitting idle on their bye weekend, a win against the Crusaders would guarantee them top spot in the Australian conference going into the final three rounds away to the Lions and Cheetahs and then home against the rejuvenated Reds.
Phipps said he was under no illusions the Waratahs were well off their best form against the Sharks, but took confidence from improvements in intent and detail following their humiliating showing against the Force.
And the Wallabies halfback made it clear his side won’t be afraid to take chances against the New Zealand outfit.
“There’s no point in playing in your shell because then you won’t really have those opportunities to play the style you want, and we won’t get those opportunities to get the points on the board,” Phipps said.
“I think if anything we’ve just got to be a bit tighter around our carriers (and) tighter at the breakdown, and then our play will hopefully get us in around the park where we want to be.”
The Crusaders are leaving their traditional strong end-of-season run to the finals a little later than normal, but their blistering performance against the Reds and the preceding round’s close 29-23 loss to the Hurricanes indicates they are still on track.
Coming off a bye week, they’ll be well rested when they return to the scene of last season’s final, which they lost on a controversial last-minute penalty against All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw.
“We know exactly what they’re going to bring in the back end of the year. That’s when they peak and that’s when they’re their best,” Phipps said.
“They’re undoubtedly the best team that’s ever been in the Super comp.
“We’ve got a pretty big week ahead of us, and the coaches made that pretty clear after the game on the weekend that that performance wasn’t good enough to go toe to toe with the champions.”
Robbo
Guest
I think you got the title of this article wrong Emma, it should be "Error prone Waratahs won't hold out against ruthless Crusaders".
Cynical Play
Guest
who is the ref?
Taylorman
Guest
Yeah it's a real toss up this one Birdy. I think Cheikas 'conversations with his team' will be the difference.
True story
Guest
Close game this one will be I imagine. The looser will probably get a bonus point. Sanders by seven, maybe
jeznez
Roar Guru
Hopefully the curse of the bye strikes and the Tahs can muscle through - is a big one. I do think the Crusaders are in that little bit better form. The Tahs need to stop turning the ball over in contact, control in that space is key.
Birdy
Guest
Put it down to pommie ignorance of SR if you want; but from what I've seen Crusaders win this one by 7 at least.
Taylorman
Guest
Just depends on who turns up for each side for this one. Both sides have won very well this year and both have had matches they wouldn't get near a final with. saders have a long...(long) history of winning matches that are needed to qualify so that's in their favour here, but they have shown more holes than usual this year. Tahs at home would be favourites and just need to play anything like last year to win this.
Lara
Guest
The midfield pairing performance between both teams while have a huge say in the result. The forwards are evenly matched as are the halves and back three.Will be very close and hopefully the ref does a good job this week.
Marty
Guest
Saders by 10 this week and by 15 next week.
Jameswm
Guest
Naiyavoro is coming on. He has done some good work in tight as well.
PeterK
Roar Guru
a new young sa
Chas
Guest
Who is the ref (and ARs) ?
BBA
Guest
In my opinion Jerry whilst what you say is true I think what has been the difference this year is not so much the crusaders offence but how poor their ball security has been and the turnover tries that they have conceded. For example most of the tries conceded against the Hurricanes were from turnovers which I dont think you can necessarily all solely correlate to the quality of the defence. For both teams it will be error rates and defensive intensity which will dictate the amount of chances, both teams are capable of finishing the chances offered. It seems like a 50/50 game to me. Gives the game a good buzz though.
mania
Guest
actually saders love straight runners. make sure tahs know that game plan
PeterK
Roar Guru
IMO Crusaders will win a narrow one. They are in better form. Also this is a must win for the crusaders, lose this and they cannot make the finals. The tahs on the other hand can still make the finals if they lose this one. They could still top the oz conference, after all brumbies play crusaders in the last round. Also Bulls / Lions could easily be overtaken by the tahs at the end so SA only gets 1 team in the finals.
Taylorman
Guest
Yep...you've convinced me. Tahs are awful this year but the Saders are ...awfuller...;-)
Jerry
Guest
The Crusaders have shown they can rack up big scores against teams with bad defences - the Sharks, Cheetahs & Reds are among the worst in the league. They're yet to show that this can translate into points vs contenders. If you look at the teams above them on the table, they're 2-6 and have only passed 30 points once (vs the Lions). I have my doubts they're gonna be so 'ruthless' against the Tahs.
Simon_Sez
Roar Guru
I am looking forward to seeing if Naiyaravoro can step up to the next level. He is big and has raw talent. This is all to be tested by the Crusaders who will expose all of his weaknesses. Also the clash between him and Nadolo should be fantastic to watch. I think the Crusaders will be too good for the Waratahs, whose forward pack is still unbalanced by the loss of Kane Douglas, and a proper replacement has not been introduced.
Taylorman
Guest
yes it was much more convincing than the actual 52-10 annihilation of the Sharks by the Saders wasn't it. I see a close match, both teams struggling to qualify. Can't pick it yet...
Nigel Imrie
Guest
To play so bad yet at the same time produce a total annihation of a good Sharks team speaks volumes of our Tahs/Wallabies team. What Cheika wants from his men is a script for total commitment of body and mind to the task of complete domination of the opposition pack and it is un Australian but you see it happening bits at a time like an animated movie. We want it all this weekend, Blitzkreig!! Pound them to death, great side they may be but these Crusaders don't like straight runners continuously taking them on, up the guts boys and our backs will do the rest!!!!