The shoe is at last on the other foot. On the New Zealand foot, to be specific.

The pressure is mounting on NZ rugby and the primary focus in the newspapers here in NS was on the outside change the Hurricanes might reach the semi’s after their win against the Chiefs.

No one is saying it but the embarressment of not having one team reach the S14 semi finals is just about too much to bear. Much was also written about the fact that the Crusaders is in a must win situation against the Bulls this weekend if they want to stay in the hunt for the semi’s. General feeling is that the Crusaders will not make it. The disappointment in the Crusaders is great and here are some typical titles in New Zealand newspapers:

Lend a hand Dan Carter – coach – The Press ; Faltering Crusaders are a sad sight –Sunday Times ; Carter’s cold night with the Stormers – The Press.

Here are some quotes from these articles:

We keep waiting for the old Crusaders to reappear. You know the guys — a group that played hard and smart and could sniff out a way to win a tough game like a pre-pubescent girl on the trail of Justin Bieber.

Sadly it appears that crazy old gang is a thing of the past, even if there are still a few familiar faces from the glory days still in their midst.

They have now dropped two on the bounce and are sinking faster than a smoker’s discretionary spending power. As much as you want to praise the Stormers and their fabulous mix of power and precision, it’s a sad sight to see these Crusaders so bereft of answers, so limited in their attack and so damned ill-disciplined that it’s not hard to make a case that they were their own worst enemies yesterday at a sold-out Newlands.

It was a depressing Friday night all-round in Cape Town for followers of the Red and Black. Not only do the Crusaders stay rooted on those 34 points which are looking increasingly inadequate as each week passes, but they have lost All Black hooker Corey Flynn for what’s left of this bumpy ride with another fracture of his problem ankle.

About the coaching staff’s responses on the Crusaders loss against the stormers:

For Blackadder the emotion was more Desolation. “It was a tough night. Right from the get-go we were on the wrong side of the referee’s decisions at the breakdown and it did not change for the entire 80 minutes,” he said.

“In the first half we played really smart, but in the second they were able” to convert their pressure into points and they scored some very good tries. “

Blackadder was clearly exasperated by a penalty count that gifted ace kicker Peter Grant 21 of his 27 points. “I just feel like we’re being harshly targeted at the breakdowns,” he said. “In the first half we were dominating the contact and sometimes a player just couldn’t get out of the way. In the second half their players weren’t rolling away and weren’t getting penalised.

Carter is having a poor year. He is struggling with his form. There was an appeal to Carter’s team mates that they should front-up and start helping him with decision making, more communication on the field is apparently required and not only waiting for instructions and guidance form Carter.

Here is what one journalist wrote about this issue:

Crusaders assistant coach Mark Hammett last night put the onus on other players to help Carter recapture his mojo as they prepare for Saturday morning’s Super 14 match against the Bulls at Pretoria’s Loftus Versfeld.

Hammett said that whoever was standing outside Carter, whether it be from set play or second-phase, needed to take more responsibility by communicating and helping with his decision-making.

“DC [Dan Carter] is probably struggling for a wee bit of form, but believe it or not I believe it is a really good thing for him,” Hammett said.

“In years gone by he’s probably had the likes of Aaron Mauger [standing outside him] and when he’s been playing for the All Blacks he’s got an experienced group. He’s got a very young group outside him [with the Crusaders] and while sometimes that’s frustrating … he’s actually growing his game without realising it.”

Carter’s recent performances in the defeats against the Stormers and Western Force were well below his best. Even when taking into account that his forwards have struggled, never has the world’s best No10 been so out of form.

Part of the problem for both Carter and the Crusaders is injuries to senior players. MacDonald at fullback and Aaron Mauger were in the team in the previous two years, players who stood up when it mattered, and who helped with decision making and tactical counter-offensive in the Crusaders backline. At the moment Carter is surrounded by a group of very talented but extremely inexperienced backs.

The other problem for the Crusaders and Carter is that the first choice No9 Andy Ellis, is not on form and is not varying the game enough to take pressure off Carter.

All the New Zealand Franchises have lost senior players and are to a certain extend busy rebuilding. It took the Bulls almost 5 years, sticking with the same players and coach, before they won the S14. Stormers are also now playing with players who have been together for quite some time and on top of that they have bought the experience of Jaque Fourie and Habana and this is starting to pay dividends. Sharks on the other hand have lost some experience in key positions and is struggling with consistency and in the try scoring department. This emphasises the importance of experience in key positions.

South African rugby is now in high tide with experience in virtually all the S14 Franchises, most importantly with worldcup winning experience in the key positions of the front row, locks, No8, both flankers, No9 and the outside backs.

I for one would however not get to comfy with the current situation as the tide comes and goes and the Matfield’s, Bakkies Botha’s, Fourie du Preez’s, Schalk Burger’s are not going to last forever and we have only to look as far as our Second String Springbok side’s performances in 2007 and during last year’s end-of-year-tour to appreciate how quickly the wheels can come off.

The first test match this year agianst Wales, when the senior Springboks are still playing for the Bulls and Stromers and won’t be eligible for selection, could give us an indication of the potential impact of losing our experienced players after the 20011 World Cup.