Crusaders add to New Zealand’s woe – Wynne Gray

The sloppy 16-24 loss to the Force at the start of this roadtrip will be looking doubly painful for the Crusaders after they were clubbed 42-14 by the Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday. That will also be another disconcerting note for the All Black selectors.

The entire Crusaders’ pack has played for the All Blacks, but they were bludgeoned by their hosts and savaged by referee Stu Dickinson. Behind those troubles, international five-eighths Daniel Carter played with a continued lack of clout and control.

Foul odour in City of Roses by Wynne Gray

Bloemfontein is known as the City of Roses but the Blues left the Highveld sniffing the stench of defeat after a wretched performance.
They fell to a Cheetahs side which had made an exhausting journey home from Hamilton, lost more players to injury and had minimal preparation.

While the Blues had modest results again this season, they should have had more clout than their hosts.

Lam tried to make it sound as though his side had been unfortunate this year. A more pragmatic assessment would be that improving sides make their own luck.

“Looking through the whole season there have been a lot of what-ifs … costly intercepts and dropped possessions,” Lam said.

When he looks through the latest statistics from yesterday’s match they will have a pungent whiff about them.

The Blues had a 65 per cent tackling success rate, they turned over possession regularly at kickoffs, lineouts, rucks, mauls and general play.

Will the real Crusaders front up? – Gregor Paul

A hard task has become an especially hard task and defeat in Pretoria this week could see it become impossible for the Crusaders to make the playoffs.

In a most un-Crusader-like way, they have hit reverse at the business end of the competition and lost their aura. Fair and square, they were belted 42-14 by an impressive Stormers side and the Crusaders can’t really have any complaints.

They were improved from their horror-show in Perth; the individual errors were reduced and for 40 minutes, at least, they were a genuine chance. They trailed 12-7 at halftime.

But in the second half the Stormers found a gear the Crusaders didn’t have and, unless they have something hidden deep inside, the conclusion is fast forming that this year the Crusaders just aren’t of the same quality as the Stormers and Bulls.

“We got outplayed tonight,” was the verdict of captain Richie McCaw, who made his 100th Super Rugby appearance.

“It wasn’t through a lack of trying but we came up against a pretty good Stormers team who put us under pressure. They deserved to win, there’s no question about that.”

And that’s what is slightly alarming. This is a side with the best New Zealand has. They have a front-row the All Black coaches think is up to it – the best performed in the country.

In Brad Thorn and Chris Jack, the Crusaders have seasoned locks who know what they are doing.

The loose trio is balanced, athletic and, of course, in possession of McCaw. Carter is the best No 10 in the business and there is pace and ball players through the backline.

Yet for 40 minutes in Cape Town they were outclassed. They didn’t have the right answers – they didn’t know how to defeat a side that has finally shaken off its propensity for underachievement.