Super Rugby Aotearoa: Crusaders v Blues

We’ve reached Round 5 of Super Rugby Aotearoa and with the table starting to take clear shape, the round began with arguably the biggest match so far as 3-0 the Blues made the trip to Christchurch to take on the table-topping Crusaders. Coming off a bye week, the Blues looked slightly fresher in the early stages and took the lead on 10 minutes as Mark Telea crossed in the corner. Otere Black kicked the conversion, but 2 penalties from Richie Mo’unga kept the home team in touch as they went into the break down 6-7.

After Black and Mo’unga traded penalties early in the first half, a quick-tap penalty from Akira Ioane took the Blues up to the Crusaders try line and as the ball came wide, younger brother Reiko powered over to extend the lead, but Black’s conversion was blocked by Braydon Ennor. The game had already been played at a great level, but it went up a couple of notches from the restart as Richie Mo’unga caught the Blues out with a quick kick-off to himself, and the Crusaders began to take control. Great timing by Mo’unga set George Bridge free down the left wing and he played the ball back inside for replacement scrum half Mitchell Drummond to put his team back ahead. Mo’unga scored another penalty and then replacement Will Jordan crossed with 5 minutes left to secure a 26-15 win and their 36ᵗʰ consecutive unbeaten game at home.

Game of the tournament?

Forget the result, everyone who watched @crusadersrugby v @BluesRugbyTeam is a winner #SuperRugbyAotearoa #rugbyunited

—
Tim Etheridge (@PStetheridge) July 11, 2020

The Blues may have come away with no points from this game, but everyone who watched it was a winner. It’s hard to imagine that we will see a better game in this season’s tournament, and if we do then we are so incredibly lucky!

Sometimes you will see a game reach halftime with a scoreline around double figures and wonder why you wasted the last 40 minutes of your life, but this was a much better affair than the 6-7 scoreline suggested. Neither team wanted to give an inch as they knew their opponent would try to take a mile and it led to a full-blooded contest as both teams went all out for the win, while not overflowing into handbags or any nasty situations. And then following Ioane’s try the game reached an even higher level, leaving me unable to take my eyes off the game! The skill of the New Zealand franchises has led to some wonderful matches that Super Rugby AU teams have been unable to replicate – though admittedly they are earlier in their run so are still working out any rustiness – and I am currently finding myself uninterested in the return of Northern Hemisphere rugby as I can’t see it reaching the same level.

From a rugby perspective, Super Rugby Aotearoa has been one of the best stories to come out of the pandemic, giving us 2 great games of rugby every week But even more than that, this was the perfect advert for the game of rugby.

Routine change

“To beat them, you need to start big to get the momentum, defend to the death and ensure that you come away with points every time you get a chance… and then hope they don’t have a moment of magic!” – Highlanders v Crusaders

Well, the Blues almost managed the above, but unfortunately for them Braydon Ennor’s charge down of Otere Black’s conversion attempt following Reiko Ioane’s try proved to be a huge momentum changer, from which the Crusaders took control and scored 17 unanswered points. Black’s conversion was from a position relatively close to the posts, but as his kicking routine sees him take a step backwards to begin his advance towards the ball, giving Ennor the time to get out and make the block.

The laws state that players cannot begin to advance beyond their try line “until the kicker begins the approach to kick”, but so many kickers these days have developed a routine for their kicks that involves some kind of step backwards or other movement that is generally counted as the beginning of their kicking motion. I always remember a young James O’Connor having Peter Stringer steal the ball off of his tee due to a tell that was counted as the start of his kicking movement, while Rob Cook had an interesting and a few other players have had some interesting stances and start their movement by going to a more traditional stance. All of these situations are just giving the defence that extra little chance to get out and stop the kick, or at least put pressure on the kicker.

Going forwards, kickers need to look at this incident and consider the impact their kicking routine has on their success. Kickers are creatures of habit, which is why you often see them still take the time to go through their full process for the easy kicks right in front of the posts. As I see it, those with the riskier kicking routines should be considering one of the following:

• Having a much shorter routine for the kicks closer to the posts (unlikely in my opinion as switching between 2 routines could upset their kicking rhythm)
• Working with a kicking coach to develop a new routine where they feel comfortable and are able to have success without having any step back or movement that could slow down/be considered as the start of their move forward
• Moving the more central kicks further from the try line to give them more time by forcing the defenders to cover more ground

Taking your chance

James Parsons has started the campaign so well, it would often be considered a big hit to lose him less than 30 minutes into the game following a head injury in a friendly fire incident with Ofa Tu’ungafasi. Not in this match, though, as replacement hooker Kurt Eklund played an absolute blinder.

As well as having a good day at the set piece on the whole, Eklund’s 30 metres made from 6 carries was 2ⁿᵈ highest in the Blues team in this game, behind only Mark Telea. He continually helped to put the Blues on the front foot and if anything, I felt that his use made the team even more dangerous than Parsons.

Hopefully Parsons will recover quickly following his failed HIA, but even if he is fit, don’t be shocked if Eklund is given the starting spot next weekend.