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Crusaders use nous in Napier

cyRil

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written by cyRil

Crusaders 25-19 Chiefs

Carter shines as Cantabs grind out win

The Crusaders kept up the pressure on the Blues at the top of the New Zealand SupeRugby conference and made amends for their loss at the hands of the Cheetahs last week with an attritional and hard-fought win over the Chiefs in Napier on Saturday night.

Dan Carter produced a stellar performance with the boot and ball in hand, contributing a 20-point haul, whilst second row Luke Romano scored the hosts' sole try that put paid to their Waikato adversaries.

dan_carter18.jpg

Carter was once again in mercurial form

It was New Zealand's irreplaceable stand-off that got the game up and running in the 2nd minute, slotting an easy penalty from just outside the 22; ample reward for the feisty spirit the home side had shown from the start.

The scores were soon level however, when George Whitelock was penalised for not rolling away from the ruck; Carter's Kiwi back-up Stephen Donald having no trouble in leveling the scores.

Both sides had begun brightly, showing good hands, footwork, and the right intentions to make the game an attractive one to watch for the paying punters - encouraging signs for an open encounter between two of the competitions' most exciting teams.

Yet an uncharacteristic miss from a drop goal 10 metres out from Carter failed to reward some patient and incisive Crusaders' build up play, his mis-field further punished moments later as Donald placed his second penalty attempt through the posts to give the visitors a 6-3 lead after 15 minutes.

There had not been much in it during the opening exchanges, both sides testing the other out with strong running and uncompromising tackling, but without a lot actually working for either the 'Saders or the Chiefs due to petty mistakes and slips.

Handling errors were proving the bane of both teams and preventing any real penetrative attacking and continuity of play. Todd Blackadder's home side were looking the more dangerous with ball in hand - able runners Robbie Freuan and Zac Guildford causing problems in the Chiefs' defence with their speed, guile and strength - but a lack of tangible support for these players was their undoing at crucial times, possession being coughed through turnovers on a number of occasions.

mils-muliaina-with-richie-mccaw-in-crusaders-_2599304.jpg

Muliaina and McCaw tussle for supremacy on Friday night

With 10 minutes until half-time, Carter showed once again why he is considered one of the greatest players on the planet with a scything break out of his own 22. The playmaker, spotting a gap, suddenly turned on the gas to break clear of Chiefs defenders, galloping downfield with purpose but again had no support at the vital time, and the moment - and ball - were lost by full-back Tom Marshall as he attempted to receive the difficult pass from his fly-half.

But just as the healthy crowd in Napier thought the Crusaders endeavours in the first period would prove fruitless and the Chiefs would go in at the break with a slender 3-point advantage, Donald was pinged for offside, and Carter converted the simplest of shots at goal to tie the scores 6-6 at the interval.

The second half was a much more one-sided affair, one that got off to the best possible start in the 43rd minute when Crusaders lock Romano broke free of some abject Chiefs tackling and was allowed to rumble his way through the defence and crash over the line.

Carter added the extras to give the hosts a 13-6 lead to build upon for the remainder of the half.

The following exchanges were again much of the same for both sides, with the two fly-halves swapping penalties to make the score 16-9 to the Crusaders with half an hour left to play.

It was at this point that the home side's forwards really kicked into action and asserted their authority and dominance over a comparatively tame back-row at the breakdown and a crumbling front-row at the scrum. Their command over this facet of the game was almost absolute, and gave them the platform required to ensure that although the scoreline remained close throughout, the men from Canterbury were never in real danger of letting their lead slip.

The score read 19-12 in the Crusaders' favour heading in to the final 10 minutes of play as another almighty front 8 shove at a Chiefs scrum won the ball against the head. The visitors' pack looked completely spent, and what ball they did manage to win was used ineffectually by a backline that was too flat, rigid and slow to cause their opposition any real trouble.

dan-carter-crusaders_2599209.jpg

Carter brings his all-time SupeRugby points tally to 1191

With minutes left Carter took an opportunistic 3 points with a drop goal on the run from 10 metres out, and further extended his side's lead moments later from the tee after another Chiefs scrum had been systematically taken apart.

With the clock gone red the Chiefs were left to play for pride, and charismatic wing-forward Liam Messam earned it after picking up from the base of a ruck and diving over in the right-hand corner. The TMO could referee Stuart Dickinson no reason to not award the try, and Donald expertly converted from out wide to give the Chiefs an unlikely losing bonus point.

The result all but ends the Chiefs' push for a play-off place, whilst the Crusaders are given a welcome boost to their team as they now look to prepare for a mouthwatering tie with the Reds in Brisbane next weekend.

Star Man: Dan Carter – Ran the show from first to last, controlled the pace of the game and contributed a handy 20 points from the boot.

5 metre flop: Ben Afeaki – Dropped off some crucial tackles – including one leading to Romano's try – and played his part in an abysmal Chiefs scrum.
 
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written by cyRil

Crusaders 25-19 Chiefs

Carter shines as Cantabs grind out win

The Crusaders kept up the pressure on the Blues at the top of the New Zealand SupeRugby conference and made amends for their loss at the hands of the Cheetahs last week with an attritional and hard-fought win over the Chiefs in Napier on Saturday night.

Dan Carter produced a stellar performance with the boot and ball in hand, contributing a 20-point haul, whilst second row Luke Romano scored the hosts' sole try that put paid to their Waikato adversaries.

More to follow...

You Andy Howells in disguise?
 
Well I'm not gonna be able to publish it for a few hours now, but thought I'd put the result up with the promise of a report!! :p
 
I dont think it's uncharacteristic of Dan Carter to miss drop goals. 1 from 3 is about right and the one he got was about as close as you could get. As amazing as he is from the kicking tee he's only made what 3 or so drop goals in all super rugby?

Its a real weakness in NZ rugby and a worry going into world cups because as we saw last time Refs (Whane Barnes anyone?) sometimes will shy away from giving kickable penalties in close crunch games and in those situations you need to take the game out of the refs hands and the best way to do that is with drop goals.
 
on the game. Was interesting I was watching the game and some of the ref's calls were stupid and inconsistant. Thought who is the ref? Wasn't at all suprised to find it was Dickenson.

I thought it was a good Game. Mostly because I like watching all NZ games where no-one is injured. There was quite a bit of kicking and the quality of kicking overall was very good for both teams Donald & Leonard kicked very well for the chiefs and Carter for the Crucaders with some help from tom marshall who was pretty impressive. The reception of those kicks was executed better by the crucaders though their kicks were in better field position overall.

pretty close game overall the main difference between the two teams was some sublime plays from Dan Carter and a dominant scrum once Brad Thorn came on.

Also good to see Donald have another good game. This was the first game since his back injury that he's been making a real effort on defense. Put some good shots in, one on dan carter made at least one turnover. Kicking for goal from the tee from both Dan and Donald was superb. Dan did seem to have a lot more space on attack giving him room to jog to the line and do that little dance before making a move - he was almost the only player in both backlines that got a good chance to run the ball looked like he had a log on confidense and speed. Looked well rested after his "injury break" which I think also doubled as a rest and had some extra time off as well rather than being rushed back.

Young dudes. I thought both Sam Cane and Tom Marshall were impressive. Both have a bright future and same cane would have to join the list of opensides who have the potential to take over from McCaw. Along with Matt Todd and Sean Polwart. On the other hand another young fella Tim Nanai Williams showed again that he has work to do on defense.

I think these two teams are the form teams in NZ right now. Chiefs will be a better team again after the bye. Though their season is surely over now and they once again rue some missed chances with close losses during the early and mid part of the season. But the All Black contenders like Mills, Kahui, Donald, Leonard, Messam, Sivivatu, Elliot, Aled & co still have everything to play for and the rest will want to play well to impress the new coach that starts next year.

I do wonder how long Messam Can go, He has played every minute of every game so far this season and had a huge workload every single game playing either 6, 8 and one game at 7. The bye will do him some good but I think another week rest should be on the cards as well given there are more important things this season to play for than super rugby and he has surely done enough now to secure his all black spot.

Crusaders I think will start to build some more form now with McCaw, Carter and Thorn Back and Sonny Bill due back as well. Though Fruen really looks like he needs a rest. Heck he looks like he needs two weeks off. towards the end of the first half there was a shot of Dan and Robbie. Dan had been all over the park and Fruen had hardly been sighted in the game yet Dan hardly had a drop of sweat on his brow and Fruen was gushing sweat and was hands on hips, hunched and panting. Crotty looked good. Now should be a chance to play SBW & Crotty in mid field and rest fruen on the bench.
 
on the game. Was interesting I was watching the game and some of the ref's calls were stupid and inconsistant. Thought who is the ref? Wasn't at all suprised to find it was Dickenson.

I thought it was a good Game. Mostly because I like watching all NZ games where no-one is injured. There was quite a bit of kicking and the quality of kicking overall was very good for both teams Donald & Leonard kicked very well for the chiefs and Carter for the Crucaders with some help from tom marshall who was pretty impressive. The reception of those kicks was executed better by the crucaders though their kicks were in better field position overall.

pretty close game overall the main difference between the two teams was some sublime plays from Dan Carter and a dominant scrum once Brad Thorn came on.

Also good to see Donald have another good game. This was the first game since his back injury that he's been making a real effort on defense. Put some good shots in, one on dan carter made at least one turnover. Kicking for goal from the tee from both Dan and Donald was superb. Dan did seem to have a lot more space on attack giving him room to jog to the line and do that little dance before making a move - he was almost the only player in both backlines that got a good chance to run the ball looked like he had a log on confidense and speed. Looked well rested after his "injury break" which I think also doubled as a rest and had some extra time off as well rather than being rushed back.

Young dudes. I thought both Sam Cane and Tom Marshall were impressive. Both have a bright future and same cane would have to join the list of opensides who have the potential to take over from McCaw. Along with Matt Todd and Sean Polwart. On the other hand another young fella Tim Nanai Williams showed again that he has work to do on defense.

I think these two teams are the form teams in NZ right now. Chiefs will be a better team again after the bye. Though their season is surely over now and they once again rue some missed chances with close losses during the early and mid part of the season. But the All Black contenders like Mills, Kahui, Donald, Leonard, Messam, Sivivatu, Elliot, Aled & co still have everything to play for and the rest will want to play well to impress the new coach that starts next year.

I do wonder how long Messam Can go, He has played every minute of every game so far this season and had a huge workload every single game playing either 6, 8 and one game at 7. The bye will do him some good but I think another week rest should be on the cards as well given there are more important things this season to play for than super rugby and he has surely done enough now to secure his all black spot.

Crusaders I think will start to build some more form now with McCaw, Carter and Thorn Back and Sonny Bill due back as well. Though Fruen really looks like he needs a rest. Heck he looks like he needs two weeks off. towards the end of the first half there was a shot of Dan and Robbie. Dan had been all over the park and Fruen had hardly been sighted in the game yet Dan hardly had a drop of sweat on his brow and Fruen was gushing sweat and was hands on hips, hunched and panting. Crotty looked good. Now should be a chance to play SBW & Crotty in mid field and rest fruen on the bench.

Agree with most of that. Tom Marshall was very impressive; he seems to have all the skills required to be a top class fullback. Cane was also impressive, particularly considering he only turned 19 a few months ago. I'm looking forward to watching him in the under 20 RWC this year (and probably next year as well, as he will still be eligible for the Under 20's then as well).

I thought Zac Guildford had a very strong match, breaking the line almost every time he got the ball. He seems to trying a lot more things this year, and as a result he is making a few more errors, but is certainly looking dangerous with ball in hand. Importantly he seems to be very good at linking up with his support players whenever he breaks the line, which is a very valuable skill to have. I still don't think he has done enough to force his way back into the AB's, but he certainly is on the right track.

In contrast to the Crusaders outside backs, the Chiefs outside backs were very quiet, though this was largely due to the quality of ball they received. I honestly don't know why the Chiefs continue to persist with Sweeney at 12, as his distribution is horrendous for a midfield back. This has been mentioned numerous times on the forum, but he has taken poor distribution to a new level over the last couple of games. Game stats (http://www.ruggastats.com) show that over the last two games Sweeney has handled the ball 22 times, and passed it once. Yes once. In this game he got the ball 8 times, and did not pass it at all; indeed if Donald wanted to get it wide he simply skipped Sweeney and passed it straight to Kahui. In contrast Sweeney's opposite, Ryan Crotty, handled the ball 17 times, and passed it 11 times. If the Chiefs want to use their strike weapons outside they need to get rid of Sweeney asap, but for some unknown reason they continue to persist with him.
 
yeah well I think I say it every single week. Sweeney is a shocking option at 12 for the chiefs and the backline is worse off with him there and it's a major gripe I have with Foster's coaching. I defend foster at times but there are other options with Tana injured. #1 would be jackson willson who looked in good touch early in the season #2 would be Kahui at 12 and Save Tokula at 13.

But I just can't understand why jackson willson hasn't been given a real shot.

Sweeney is good off the bench to cover wing for some late impact but starting him at 12 every week is really holding the chiefs back. Interestingly he was credited with 4 missed tackles as well which is likely where Carter was skooting through.
 
just in Ben Afeaki's defense though he did miss 3 tackles at least he made 17 which was 2nd only to sam cane. Pretty impressive as he came off early. Good number for a prop. In contrast Hika Elliot only made 7 tackles and missed 3. Chiefs scrum was always going to struggle, Crusaders had about 6 All Blacks in their tight 5 mix. Chiefs have two and they are both hookers. There was only one non-all black in the Crusaders run on forward pack. Overall I think Ben's scrum is stronger than Sona's.
 
just in Ben Afeaki's defense though he did miss 3 tackles at least he made 17 which was 2nd only to sam cane. Pretty impressive as he came off early. Good number for a prop. In contrast Hika Elliot only made 7 tackles and missed 3. Chiefs scrum was always going to struggle, Crusaders had about 6 All Blacks in their tight 5 mix. Chiefs have two and they are both hookers. There was only one non-all black in the Crusaders run on forward pack. Overall I think Ben's scrum is stronger than Sona's.

Afeaki does seem to have a phenomenal work-rate for such a big guy. His only real weakness is his scrummaging (which is a major weakness for a prop!). His scrummaging certainly isn't as bad as some players, but if he could improve his scrimmaging I think he could potentially make the AB's. His poor scrummaging may be result of him being so much bigger than other players throughout age-grade rugby, meaning he was able to rely on his size more than technique at scrum time. Hopefully he is spending a lot of time on his scrummaging, as the rest of his game is quite impressive.
 
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I dont think it's uncharacteristic of Dan Carter to miss drop goals. 1 from 3 is about right and the one he got was about as close as you could get. As amazing as he is from the kicking tee he's only made what 3 or so drop goals in all super rugby?

Its a real weakness in NZ rugby and a worry going into world cups because as we saw last time Refs (Whane Barnes anyone?) sometimes will shy away from giving kickable penalties in close crunch games and in those situations you need to take the game out of the refs hands and the best way to do that is with drop goals.
I called it uncharacteristic mainly because he was 10 metres out and bang in front of the posts! :p
 

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