IT IS not unusual for coaches to punt home teams as favourites, especially when the dice is loaded against the travelling team, which is often the case in Super Rugby play-offs.
New Zealand sides have not lost to South African or Australian opposition in a home Super Rugby semifinal. The 1999 final, where the Crusaders beat the Highlanders 24-19 in Dunedin, was the last instance of the home team in New Zealand losing a Super Rugby play-off against any opposition,
It makes sense for Sharks director of coaching Jake White to install the Crusaders as firm favourites for Saturday’’s semifinal.
It will be a tough task for the Sharks, even though they beat the Crusaders at home in the regular season, the Crusaders have never lost a home semifinal.
In recent years, the Crusaders have had a wretched semifinal return, having won only one of the past five, a 29-10 win against the Stormers in Cape Town. All their semi-finals between 2009 and 2013 have been on the road.
“There is no doubt that they are favourites. They are playing at home and they have guys who have continually played in play-off rugby and they have World Cup winners in their team,” White said.
“We still believe we are good enough but on the other hand we are realists. They have won championships with these guys and they are playing in a home semifinal for the first time in a very long time. They must be firm favourites to get a win here.”
Talking of personnel, the Crusaders will be able to roll out their big guns in Richie McCaw, Kieran Read, Dan Carter and Corey Flynn, with McCaw and Flynn competing in their umpteenth play-off, having also taken part in the 2002 semifinal against the Highlanders after the Crusaders missed out the year before.
If there is some confidence the Sharks could take into the game, they beat the Crusaders even though they had McCaw in the number seven jersey. With Read and Carter back, they are a transformed unit, something White grudgingly admitted to.
“They have had a week off, which will make them very fresh and they will have prepared accordingly. They have some seriously great players back and I have no doubt they will be a far better team than the one we faced in the middle of the season,” White said.
The Sharks showed excellent defensive discipline with 13 men after Jean Deysel was sent off in their 30-25 win on May 17, where they limited the Crusaders to one try, but at times during the season, it was shown to be vulnerable.
The Cheetahs exposed some chinks in their first game back after the international break but on Saturday, the Highlanders were an exhibition of the clear and present danger New Zealand sides hold up their sleeves in terms of superb running backs who thrive on loose tactical kicking. The Crusaders are a far more conservative outfit but when they have been asked to, they have punished teams that kicked errantly.
White was quick to mention that his defensive system is one of the best in the tournament but he also added that they will not be shifting much from what worked for them in the regular season.
“We will try to use the exact same system that worked for us and it must not be forgotten that we beat them with 13 men. At the end of the day it is knock-out rugby and we hardly had any ball. We have to take advantage when he have the ball and make the most of the opportunities,” White said.
“The defence is not a worry but there are some aspects that we do need to work on. We had the best defensive record in the competition. To say that it is a worry on one performance would be wrong. I know that we slipped a few tackles and let them get tries from broken play but it is something that can be fixed.”
White admits Crusaders are favourites
IT IS not unusual for coaches to punt home teams as favourites, especially when the dice is loaded against the travelling team, which is often the case in Super Rugby play-offs.
New Zealand sides have not lost to South African or Australian opposition in a home Super Rugby semifinal. The 1999 final, where the Crusaders beat the Highlanders 24-19 in Dunedin, was the last instance of the home team in New Zealand losing a Super Rugby play-off against any opposition,
It makes sense for Sharks director of coaching Jake White to install the Crusaders as firm favourites for Saturday’’s semifinal.
It will be a tough task for the Sharks, even though they beat the Crusaders at home in the regular season, the Crusaders have never lost a home semifinal.
In recent years, the Crusaders have had a wretched semifinal return, having won only one of the past five, a 29-10 win against the Stormers in Cape Town. All their semi-finals between 2009 and 2013 have been on the road.
“There is no doubt that they are favourites. They are playing at home and they have guys who have continually played in play-off rugby and they have World Cup winners in their team,” White said.
“We still believe we are good enough but on the other hand we are realists. They have won championships with these guys and they are playing in a home semifinal for the first time in a very long time. They must be firm favourites to get a win here.”
Talking of personnel, the Crusaders will be able to roll out their big guns in Richie McCaw, Kieran Read, Dan Carter and Corey Flynn, with McCaw and Flynn competing in their umpteenth play-off, having also taken part in the 2002 semifinal against the Highlanders after the Crusaders missed out the year before.
If there is some confidence the Sharks could take into the game, they beat the Crusaders even though they had McCaw in the number seven jersey. With Read and Carter back, they are a transformed unit, something White grudgingly admitted to.
“They have had a week off, which will make them very fresh and they will have prepared accordingly. They have some seriously great players back and I have no doubt they will be a far better team than the one we faced in the middle of the season,” White said.
The Sharks showed excellent defensive discipline with 13 men after Jean Deysel was sent off in their 30-25 win on May 17, where they limited the Crusaders to one try, but at times during the season, it was shown to be vulnerable.
The Cheetahs exposed some chinks in their first game back after the international break but on Saturday, the Highlanders were an exhibition of the clear and present danger New Zealand sides hold up their sleeves in terms of superb running backs who thrive on loose tactical kicking. The Crusaders are a far more conservative outfit but when they have been asked to, they have punished teams that kicked errantly.
White was quick to mention that his defensive system is one of the best in the tournament but he also added that they will not be shifting much from what worked for them in the regular season.
“We will try to use the exact same system that worked for us and it must not be forgotten that we beat them with 13 men. At the end of the day it is knock-out rugby and we hardly had any ball. We have to take advantage when he have the ball and make the most of the opportunities,” White said.
“The defence is not a worry but there are some aspects that we do need to work on. We had the best defensive record in the competition. To say that it is a worry on one performance would be wrong. I know that we slipped a few tackles and let them get tries from broken play but it is something that can be fixed.”
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