Crusaders rugby is built on solid set piece, taking points when they’re up the right end, and counter-attacking with the alacrity and fun of professional performers.
Throw in a defence in equal parts bruising and desperate, deft tactical kicking and a team laden with All Blacks (and the half-mad captain of Argentina) and it’s a heady combination.
Too heady for the Brumbies on Friday night in Canberra, with the Crusaders too smart, too precise and just flat-out too good in notching a 37-26 victory at GIO Stadium.
Will Jordan and Richie Mo’unga kicked with smarts and precision; they used the field like a chess board. Ethan Blackadder in the 7 was ‘everywhere’, as they say. Codie Taylor was too – for the first half, anyway.
In finals-like intensity befitting a Super Rugby Pacific heavyweight stoush, the Crusaders were all structure, right options, pick and drive, pressure. So much pressure.
The Crusaders have long been the best in Super Rugby because they pile it on and make teams pay. They rattled the Brumbies, with even the home team’s patented rolling maul largely countered.
And while the Brumbies attacked in the last 10 minutes and threatened to get within a try with seconds to play, in reality, for the most part, you were watching and wondering how a fortnight ago the Waratahs had even come close.
“The last few weeks we’ve been backed into a corner,” Crusaders captain Scott Barrett told Stan Sport after the match. “The Blues tipped us up, the Tahs as well … we didn’t turn up in the physical areas.
“Last couple of weeks we’ve dug a little deeper in our preparation… coming here to Canberra, Brumbies near [the] top of the table, we knew we had to front.”
The Brumbies opened the scoring in the fifth minute when No.12 Irae Simone reached out and appeared to knock on, only for the slow motion replay to indicate the ball had been grounded, at least for the microsecond the Brumbies needed.
The Crusaders hit back – it’s what they do. And they kept on hitting. They owned the next 35 minutes, running right, then to the middle. There was a charge-down close out and the dogs of war bombed in and equalised through Taylor. Mo’unga’s conversion made it 7-5.
There was a ‘finals’ feel to the fixture from the outset. Both defences rushed their opponents. Attacks hit the gain line right on it. Errors were punished on counter – that, too, is just what the Crusaders do.
Taylor (he’s the hooker, mind) grubbered through the Brumbies’ line, Sevu Reece chased, and was rewarded with a tangential bounce that beat Andy Muirhead like Shane Warne had ripped one.
In the process, Reece became Super Rugby’s fastest ever player to 40 tries, his 50 games beating Joe Roff’s previous record of 53.
In the 20th minute the Crusaders ripped off a driving maul that went 20 metres towards the middle of the park. The Brumbies somehow found the ball, Rod Iona hit a hole and bolted midfield. Banks and Muirhead had their moments. It was good attack, patient.
Folau Fainga’a of the Brumbies is tackled by Richie Mo’unga of the Crusaders. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
The Crusaders ripped it free. They were doing everything possible to avoid the home team’s weapon: the rolling, driving maul from 10 metres out.
From there, Brumbies’ errors compounded. Four penalties in a row and the Crusaders ‘took the points’ in front of goal as the Brumbies had in Hamilton the week before.
A penalty 30 out got the crowd going, for they knew what was coming: a kick down the line by Banks. Lineout 15 out. Honey time.
And then they stuffed it up.
Twice more the Crusaders ripped the ball free in the first half. The Brumbies could get no momentum. Their basics were poor.
Mo’unga nailed another penalty goal, the fruits of pressure, efficiency and skilful, fast counter-attack: it was 23-5 at half-time, and the crowd was borderline mute.
“We’re creating opportunities – we can’t finish them,” a frustrated Banks told Stan Sport at half-time.
“We’re getting to the A Zone, but letting off the pressure. They’re a tough team and they’re going to run from anywhere. It’s about keeping the pressure on them.”
They couldn’t do it. Not for long enough, anyway.
The Brumbies missed the punch and X-factor of Rob Valetini. Noah Lolesio was out. Len Ikitau didn’t run in the first half, and neither Banks nor either of the wingers could compensate much. Roff had retired over 20 years previously.
The second half was more competitive. Simone ran a hard and fine line and scored adjacent to the posts. It was the first time they’d been within 20 metres of the Crusaders’ line in 40 minutes.
Pablo Matera belted Darcy Swain with his shoulder and flapping condor arms. Cadeyrn Neville won a defensive lineout and a cheer in the Mal Meninga Stand for his troubles, before being replaced by Nick Frost.
The cheers wouldn’t last long as the Crusaders scored through halfback Bryn Hall. Mo’unga drilled the conversion; a golden boot all night. It was 30-12. It wasn’t men against boys. It was more like All Blacks against Wallabies.
Brumbies didn’t give up, though. Their structures are strong, too. Folau Fainga’a crashed over. An 11-point buffer with 20 minutes to play.
But Jordan scored and Mo’unga shelled peas with another dead-eye kick; suddenly, the margin was 18 again.
Jordan went left, throwing a lazy ball that Wright anticipated perfectly and tore away with: running 50, turning Mo’unga and doing plenty. Eleven points again, and one of the tries of the season.
Then, the Brumbies won a penalty 60 metres out. The crowd got the “Brumbies” chant going. Five minutes to go. They couldn’t, could they?
Banks busted them! Frost came hard. Penalty advantage. Right in their wheelhouse – it was five-metre lineout time.
It was no good. But Simone ran a hole again! Somehow, though the Crusaders shut them down. And that, effectively, was that.
Brumbies captain Allan Alaalatoa tried to put a positive spin on a game that was lost after a bumbling 40 minutes.
“Definitely loved the heart at the end. But every time we got down their end we made too many errors,” he said on Stan Sport.
“Handling errors. At the set piece, at lineout. Carries into the A Zone including myself.
“You can’t give a good side like the Crusaders that much ball.”
Tim Carter
Roar Pro
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
West Aussie Exile
Roar Rookie
Good comment, Francis re what it takers to challenge ABs and potentially for the WB to beat them home and away. As much as I would love it to be this year, I can't see it. The errors made by Simone, in particular show the gap between a Wallabies squad member and and AB squad member. The performance of Wallabies regulars like Paisami and Petaia also showed they have a way to go to challenge AB. The star of the weekend for me was Perese for the Tahs -what a performance, such a pity he got injured. For me, Rennie needs to factor in for the 23 , how each player has played against the NZ teams-if they haven't fronted up in those games, they shouldn't be selected for the WB
dsat24
Probably too many veges on his plate to start with too
CUW
Roar Rookie
1 SR chose to rest a few players ( now i forgot who ) , so it wasnt just RM missing. 2 IMO Crusaders lost becoz they have been sloppy all season - even when they are winning !! 3 i have said many times - their defence has been poor , since the 2nd round of super rugger last year , when their welsh coach went home.
CUW
Roar Rookie
NZ need an 8 - Savea is a 7 , but with Cane he has to play somewhere :stoked:
CUW
Roar Rookie
nope - even in European football with 20 teams in a division only 3 get promotion /relegation with just 12 teams only two can go up :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: But seriosly i think the two new teams shud become one and then aussy shud have 4 teams , they can combine 2 teams. then its just 10 teams - they play 18 matches home and away then if u want a finals round - 2 nd 3 play a match to decide who plays 1 !! so the max number of matches is 20 just think - the teams have something like 33 + 5 players in a squad thats like 60 development players and 396 regular players = total 456 when u have 10 teams make it 40 per squad + 5 development players , prefarably under 21 years of age that is 450 players !!! super rugger shud look at IPL - how they structure and team buildup and such - theres no need to reinvent the wheel.
CUW
Roar Rookie
depends on which color ur shades are :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :silly:
LuckyPhil
Roar Rookie
Even though it was "only" 11 points, the Brumbies were never in it. Bloody annoying being at the game with the gloating Saders fans. The Crusaders were clinical and hard on the ball, where the Brumbies were sloppy exiting their 22, and really missed the physicality of Valentini. The worrying thing for the Brumbies is that in the big games this season (think this one and the one against the Reds), they folded. Hopefully they can fix this before the finals roll around.
Jezdexter
Roar Rookie
Although Iona may be happy to be called a young fella, he's 30. He wasn't a particularly good player in his first stint at the Brumbies, and he's no better now. Brumbies biggest problem is depth at 10, there is Lolesio and nobody. We need to recruit someone, anyone to fill that hole. Losing both Kuenzle and Pasitoa to the Force really hurt us, with either of those players in the squad we would be a much better side on those weeks where Lolesio is out.
Emery Ambrose
Roar Rookie
Interestingly I felt the crusaders went for the dual playmaker game plan!!! Jordan was all over it at 1st receiver.
Harry Jones
Expert
Just think they have light 2nd row. What worked till now won’t work versus CRU
Locke
Roar Rookie
My question is rhetorical, I'm pointing out the self-defeating nature of your argument - none of the Aussie teams, including the Brumbies, have substantial numbers of Wallaby quality players. Why you would bring up this fact to mitigate the Brumbies loss and yet call it an aberration, doesn't make any sense.
FrancisF
Roar Pro
If the Brumbies aren’t close to Wallaby quality then exactly what Australian team is? That shows how little you know about Aussie rugby teams.
Malotru
Roar Rookie
Maybe you should spend more time in church than watching Rugby Tim.
Locke
Roar Rookie
Bear in mind, as Matt Cleary rightly said, this Crusader team is almost a All Blacks Team. The Brumbies team EVEN at full strength is no where close to a Wallabies team. That's clutching at straws. If the Brumbies aren't close to Wallaby quality then exactly what Australian team is? The Reds or Waratahs who have even worse results against NZ teams? I've heard it argued that the Crusaders, Blues and Chiefs are all near AB teams, hence losing to them is acceptable. On the other hand, nobody wants to own up to the fact that a significant part of the Wallabies will need to come from somewhere in Australia.
Paulo
Roar Rookie
I’m not sure if CUW called him out, but lots of other people did over his RM call. And while he’s played a lot of rugby, that doesn’t mean he is right. It just means he has played a lot of rugby.
Paulo
Roar Rookie
Definitely expectation he would step on and dominate from the first minute, which was unfair and didn’t really take into account the ways and styles teams play. He is definitely showing his true class now though. :thumbup:
tsuru
Roar Rookie
Thank you Geoff. Disappointing for him (and us) but I agree that we should see a lot of him in the future. I was keen to see him this season, particularly after the praise NB gave him - "Hosannas for Hosea." I know I've said this here before, but I'll repeat that it would be great if all the teams would do as the Tahs are doing and identify, after the team announcement, the players injured and unavailable, and those not selected but available for club rugby.
FrancisF
Roar Pro
I consider the loss by Brumbies to the Crusaders as an aberration. Without Valetini and Lolesio, the Brumbies is like 75% Brumbies, or 65% Brumbies. Both players are key pieces in the Brumbies’s jigsaw puzzle. You can’t beat the clinical Crusaders with a B+ team. You need to put in an A+ team or at least its A team. Here is the key point: Bear in mind, as Matt Cleary rightly said, this Crusader team is almost a All Blacks Team. The Brumbies team EVEN at full strength is no where close to a Wallabies team. The fact the Crusaders brought out its powerhouse pack to take on the Brumbies is out of respect for the Brumbies. That is good sportsmanship on the part. of the Crusader’s brain trust. I would not make any final judgment on the Brumbies on its loss in this game. But this game would be a good lesson for Wallabies coach Dave Rennie what to expect from the ALLBlacks and the type of skills he must mold to take on the AB for the Bledisloe Cup. I will sleep well.
scrum
Roar Rookie
Absolutely you are as entitled, just as you are entitled to return to NZ. So you have a choice. Appears you have made that choice. Yeah I remember the incident Michael Brial whacked Frank Bunce. The NZ media were going nuts. Bunce said what happens on the field stays on the field- no comment. That was the end of it. I greatly admired Bunce for that. But that was another era where foul play was tolerated, thankfully the game has moved on.