Brumbies v Crusaders: Five takeaways as All Blacks star ’empties the tank’ despite the visitors’ ‘one-dimensional’ approach
The Crusaders form a huddle and star back-row Ethan Blackadder.
Following the Crusaders’ 33-31 victory over the Brumbies in their Super Rugby Pacific clash at GIO Stadium in Canberra, Planet Rugby picks out five takeaways from the thrilling action.
The top line
With the Chiefs clinching top spot courtesy of their victory over the Highlanders earlier on Friday, there was plenty at stake as these sides battled it out for second position in the Super Rugby Pacific standings.
As the scoreline suggests, this was a tight tussle which went down to the wire with the Brumbies having the better of the early exchanges and they took the lead after just two minutes when Feao Fotuaika crossed for the opening try.
The visitors did not panic as they struck back with a Christian Lio-Willie five-pointer shortly afterwards before a Rivez Reihana penalty and Ethan Blackadder try gave them a 15-7 lead.
The hosts responded via a converted try from Len Ikitau but the Crusaders regained the initiative when Reihana dotted down and added the extras before a Sevu Reece drop goal gave them a 25-14 lead at half-time.
And when Reihana slotted his second penalty early in the second half Crusaders fans must have thought they were on course for a comfortable victory.
The Brumbies had other ideas, however, and struck back with tries from Rhys Van Nek and Andy Muirhead with Noah Lolesio succeeding with a conversion for the former which meant the scores were level at 28-28 by the 56th minute.
The closing stages were tense and the hosts thought they had secured the result when Lolesio added a penalty in the 73rd minute but the Crusaders had the last laugh when George Bell scored the match-winning try five minutes later.
One-dimensional Crusaders
On the one hand, there is immense power in that pack, especially in the front five. Four of the players that started are All Blacks, and even then they were without Test tighthead Fletcher Newell, while in the back-row Lio-Willie, Tom Christie and the aforementioned Blackadder are outstanding operators.
When the Christchurch outfit dominate physically, as they did for much of the first half, they are difficult to stop, but there isn’t much beyond set-piece excellence and Noah Hotham’s impressive kicking game, which perhaps explains their struggles to truly find fluency this season.
Dan Carter used to steer the ship at fly-half and after that came Richie Mo’unga, but now they are placing their trust on inexperienced playmakers, particularly with Wallabies pivot James O’Connor being used to close out matches late on.
Taha Kemara did a good job earlier in the campaign but Reihana has taken over since the injury and it just hasn’t quite clicked. The talent is obvious, including some lovely individual moments, but there is still much to learn when it comes to decision-making with the Crusaders attack currently rather stagnant.
The absence of Will Jordan – their standout back – certainly isn’t helping, but they were rather blunt once again in phase play, which is a concern for them looking towards the play-offs. In fairness, it was enough to beat a very good side in the Brumbies but you wonder how such a display would go against the Chiefs.
Noah Lolesio’s return
Following the scary incident against Western Force, which sparked fears that he had suffered a fractured spine, the fly-half was back in action. Just 18 days after that worrying injury, Lolesio returned to the field and showed why he could still be the Wallabies’ fly-half come the British and Irish Lions series, for the first 78 minutes at least.
Quite frankly, everyone was just happy to see him out on the pitch, but the fly-half did plenty of good things. In comparison to the Crusaders, the Brumbies were much more fluid with ball in hand and in general Lolesio dictated the attack well while also kicking his goals.
However, key players step up with it matters and in the latter stages of the match the Wallabies’ pivot didn’t. After the visitors had just scored the try to take them ahead, the Canberra outfit superbly regathered the kick-off and set up camp inside the opposition 22.
They should have been setting up for the drop-goal but Lolesio did not take responsibility, instead shifting the ball wide where Corey Toole lost the ball in contact. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but passing to an isolated Toole when the rest of the team were so narrow never looked the right option.
Impressive Ethan Blackadder
The All Blacks back-row was only on the field for one half but he certainly made his presence felt during that period as he came to the fore with an fine all-round performance.
The match was a momentous one for the 30-year-old as he was making his 50th appearance for the Christchurch-based outfit and he celebrated the occasion with his five-pointer in the 13th minute.
Although he was less prominent on attack, Blackadder’s superb physicality in defence caught the eye and he finished his 40-minute stint with an impressive 11 tackles made.
He also competed ferociously at the breakdowns where he won two turnovers match-high which was a remarkable feat as he did not see any action during the second half of this encounter.
Crusaders head coach Rob Penney will be delighted with what he saw from Blackadder as he emptied the tank during his stint on the field and will be hoping he can build on this performance during the play-offs.
Multi-skilled Sevu Reece
Much has been said and written about Reece over the past week after he broke Super Rugby’s all-time try-scoring record in the Crusaders’ narrow victory over the Highlanders last weekend.
And while the All Blacks flyer has now scored 66 tries in just 84 matches he showed against the Brumbies that he is more than just a try-scoring machine with a moment of magic during the latter stages of the opening half.
With the visitors on the attack midway between the halfway mark and the Brumbies’ try-line, Reece held his nerve as he dropped into the pocket and gathered a pass from Tamaiti Williams before calmly slotting a drop goal from 30 metres out.
The snap-shot caught everybody by surprise and Reece couldn’t hide his delight as he celebrated the rare feat – which gave the Crusaders a deserved 25-14 lead at half-time – with his team-mates and illustrated that he is a multi-skilled individual.
