By MARC HINTON - RugbyHeaven | Monday, 10 March 2008
Advantage Crusaders. On a weekend when mediocrity was the standard currency and possibly only the Sharks amongst their rivals enhanced their claims, it's the same old same old up in the nosebleed section of the Super 14 standings.
That is to say the Crusaders occupy top spot and would appear to be fast digging in for a long stay there. After surviving a scare from the Mini-Me Western Force (playing just like the Crusaders, only not quite as good) and conquering their final frontier in Perth on Sunday night, they are extremely well placed for another of those wire-to-wire runs of theirs.
Among their six championship charges they've mixed a variety of winning recipes. They've come from deep, won on the road, won late, won when they've had to. But the one constant in the Red ‘n Black crusades has been that when they've been the front-runners, you can pretty much send the trophy to the engravers. (For the purposes of this evaluation, we will disregard the 2007 campaign when Graham Henry essentially nobbled all five New Zealand sides with his ill-conceived reconditioning scheme.)
All things being equal, when the Crusaders make the running, they are nigh on impossible to peg back. And now, having just won three road matches on the trot, they are about as well-placed as you could hope to be at this stage of a season. Out of a potential haul of 20 points, they have 19. As close to perfection as you'll ever see from a side just a month along the track.
Of course, it will be noses to the grindstone in Christchurch this week as Deans and his men deal with the additional demands of travel, having jetted halfway round the world over the last fortnight. Added to that, stringent analysis of the Force video will show that there were long periods when they were off their game, particularly with tackle accuracy throught he first 50 minutes and ball-security at the breakdown area.
On the plus side, this week they entertain the Cheetahs back at the ground once known as Lancaster Park, and for all their jet-lag, we all know they drop ‘em down there about as often as Richie McCaw gets outplayed by his opposite number.
What's more, if the Cheetahs couldn't knock over the Chiefs playing as badly as they did last Saturday night in Hamilton, what hope have they got in Christchurch? The TAB odds will reveal that it is a scant one.
The Crusaders certainly have their key players operating well. Up front Mose Tuiali'i has been the best New Zealand No 8 running round, with a dynamic edge to his game that must surely have him back in the national picture. McCaw has been prominent, and was adjudged player of the game in both wins in South Africa and Ali Williams has provided the aggression factor that all good packs require. The front row (whoever fronts) have been doing the job at scrum time, and the likes of Kieran Read, Brad Thorn and Corey Flynn doing the sleeves-up stuff that is an essential ingredient.
Andy Ellis has also made an impressive start in his bid to prove he's a legitimate test-level halfback, while Casey Laulala and Leon MacDonald have been extremely effective with their straight-running. Dan Carter had a poor game in Perth (his solo try apart), but previously had been operating near peak efficiency.
There was one other element that Deans was no doubt happy with out of the Subiaco victory over his old mate and squash buddy John Mitchell. Having dug themselves into somewhat of a hole, trailing 12-24 10 minutes into the second spell, the composure was ice-cool in the Perth heat and the execution levels went up dramatically. In other words, when they needed to, the Cantabs pulled out the old A game.
"I suppose you could say that we weren't at our best, but the boys dug deep to do what we needed to," McCaw reflected for media after the 29-24 victory. "And I'm proud of them for that. To win in a situation like we were in took a lot of guts and character. We'll have other days where we'll play better and get positive results, but they'll feel no more satisfying than this does."
Deans also told reporters he was always confident his side would turn things round when they had to. "We'd played into their hands a little bit in the first half by attacking down a narrow channel and they profited from our lapses. But we knew that if we could get our game going, control possession a little better and use more width, we were always capable of getting back into it."
The Crusaders will know now that it's time to consolidate. Winnable home games against the Cheetahs and Waratahs follow before they close their pre-bye segment with what shapes as an interesting visit to the sweet-n-sour Hurricanes.
In many ways this week could present the biggest challenge, with the travel factor, short turn-around and knowledge that the Cheetahs aren't the worst of outfits from over that way (they did lead the Chiefs 17-0 before inexplicably clocking off prematurely).
"It is a tight schedule. That's why we chose to get everybody back home to their families, and in their own beds, as quickly as we could," Deans told the Crusaders website. "This week will all be about recovery, in terms of getting everyone back into their home routines, and freshened up before what will be another hard match."
The Crusaders left Perth at midnight local time, were due to arrive home mid-afternoon today and will undertake light duties until close to match time (Saturday, 7.35pm).
It's a well-worn path they follow now. No one knows the way home from here like the Crusaders do.
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