There is an irony to the fact that the first team from Australia or New Zealand to win a game in South Africa this year, was the out-of-form Crusaders. Finally the team gave a performance that was more in line with the Crusaders of old, that their fans know, love and perhaps more importantly, expect.
It is acknowledged that is hard to beat a South African team in South africa, so what DID the Crusaders do differently in their 28-7 win over the Lions that enabled them to record an almost convincing win?
The first thing that comes to mind is… well, it’s not a ‘thing’, it is a person, and that person is Kieron Fonotia. All season the Crusaders have been lacking power and excitement in the backs, quite notably in the midfield. As I have mentioned previously (… a lot), Ryan Crotty has been THE shining light in a dull season, but the Crusaders have failed to strike up a powerful, dangerous looking midfield duo. Until now!
Picking Fonotia to play the #13 to Crotty’s #12 is possibly the wisest, most inspired decision the Crusaders management have made all year. Not only did Fonotia and Crotty have an almost instinctual understanding of each others game, but in Fonotia the Crusaders FINALLY have a powerful, strong, fast, exciting centre. The tackles he broke through, the offloads he made, the runs down field, the support play, EVERYTHING Fonotia did felt good, it felt exciting, and for the first time this season I was nodding my head, thinking ‘yes, the Crusaders are on to a good thing here’.
Fonotia was part of the 2013 ITM Cup championship winning Tasman Makos team and the Crusaders need to take better advantage of that. Fonotia KNOWS how to win and turned in consistently good performances for the Makos, week in, week out. It baffles me why he has had to wait so long to get a start. We see the result now as the Crusaders defeat the Lions.
You just need to look at his performances with the Makos to know that he is an exciting player, great on attack as well as defense. What’s more, he knows how to score tries – something that has been severely lacking in the Crusaders season thus far. Not only does he scores tries, he scores impressive tries, the try he got vs the Lions is a prime example of that ability.
I only hope that Todd Blackadder realises what a good thing he is onto with Fonotia and gives the Crotty/Fonotia combination a chance to develop.
The other main difference between the Crusaders’ latest game and earlier games is that against the Lions, the Crusaders actually defended well. The Crusaders have always been known for their defensive prowess, something which has sadly been lacking this year. Against the Lions though, something seemed to click, and viewers were witness to the Crusaders’ strongest defensive effort of the 2014 Super Rugby season.
There were a few tense moments when the Lions were extremely close to crossing the line, but the Crusaders did what they used to do best and staunchly defended the line, ensuring the Lions only put seven points on the scoreboard.
The defense wasn’t just good when defending the try line, it was good in general, and one of the players that stood out was Nemani Nadolo. Perhaps Nadolo didn’t make the impact he was expected to on attack, but he did put a stop to two different phases of play which would very likely have resulted in tries to the Lions.
Next up for the Crusaders on their South African trip are the Cheetahs, who have been a bit of a mixed bag this season. It would be great for the Crusaders to record another win, but winning TWO games on the run in South Africa is an even bigger ask than winning one game, so like every other Crusaders fan, I shall hold my breath, cross my fingers and toes, and hope for the best!
If they do win, what a way that would be to broadcast to the world that the Crusaders season is still alive and well!
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