Crusaders player ratings: All Blacks star a ‘hindrance’ in first-half implosion as Chiefs batter and outclass poor ‘Saders
Johnny McNicholl of the Crusaders and an inset of captain David Havili.
Following the Crusaders’ biggest loss to the Chiefs, here’s how we rated Rob Penney’s charges in the 49-12 Super Rugby Pacific semi-final defeat in Waikato.
Crusaders player ratings v Chiefs
15 Johnny McNicholl: After his heroics last week, it was a far quieter performance from the veteran full-back. He didn’t have a poor outing compared to many of his teammates, but wasn’t very impactful either. 4
14 Chay Fihaki: Did well to finish off his try, then made a great tackle to deny the Chiefs a try soon after. However, he struggled under the high ball pressure that the Chiefs imposed on him. 5
13 Braydon Ennor: Promoted to the starting XV with Dallas McLeod ruled out through injury and frankly, the ‘Saders certainly missed the latter. Ennor was a liability in defence with poor reads and slipped tackles, allowing the Chiefs to run riot. Improved in the second half but the damage was done. 4
12 David Havili (c): Plain and simply outclassed by Quinn Tupaea during their head-to-head. The Crusaders captain did improve as the game went on and grabbed a try, but by then, it was too late. 6
11 Sevu Reece: After all the memorable performances he has produced in the Crusaders’ jumper, he will want to forget his final outing for the Canterbury club. His high kick in the first half was simply daft and wasteful – Crusaders were guilty of a lot of that in the first 40. Missed a plethora of tackles. 4
10 Taha Kemara: He showed his class with wonderful footwork and superbly set-up Fihaki, but that was one of the rare highlights for the fly-half who was tactically outplayed and struggled in defence with the Chiefs regularly finding a route behind the defence through his channel. Hooked at 47 minutes. 4
9 Noah Hotham: Started well with some decent contestable box kicks but had no answers on how to swing things into the Crusaders’ favour. Wasn’t helped by his pack going backwards and being inaccurate at the set-pieces. Replaced early in the second half. 4
Where are they now? First Hurricanes team to win Super Rugby in 2016
The forwards
8 Christian Lio-Willie: Never gives in and worked his socks off but couldn’t bend or break the Chiefs on either side of the ball in the manner he has done in recent matches. Props for his effort but the Chiefs limited his impacts. 5
7 Leicester Fainga’anuku: Not nearly as impactful as he has been in the back-row for the Crusaders in recent matches and looked incredibly dejected at half-time after he was replaced on 34 minutes. A tough night for Fainga’anuku. 3
6 Ethan Blackadder: One of the best Crusaders on the park, even in a disastrous first-half performance. His tackle to dislodge the ball out of Tupou Vaa’i’s grasp was world-class. Relentless throughout. An All Blacks recall is a real prospect. 7
5 Jamie Hannah: Left with too much to do to stop Leroy Carter as he was stepped while trying to cover out wide. The lock has been excellent all season but had his work cut out for him today. He was a real workhorse for the ‘Saders, certainly didn’t lack effort, but the Chiefs were dominant, particularly in the first half. 6
4 Antonio Shalfoon: One of the ‘Saders who was replaced early in the second half. Missed a couple of tackles and had little impact overall. He was part of a pack that was clearly outplayed in the first half. 4
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3 Fletcher Newell: The All Blacks tighthead was supposed to be a welcome return for the final four clash but ultimately, he was a hindrance to the Crusaders. There is no doubting his pedigree, but like much of his teammates, it was an off day for the prop. He was battered in the scrum and anonymous around the park. It was worth the gamble throwing him right back in the mix but perhaps a week too soon for him. 3
2 Codie Taylor: Went deep into the match and, like Blackadder and Lio-Willie, the All Blacks veteran was incredibly busy and gave everything he had. However, he was part of a pack that was clearly dominated. He had a few mishaps at lineout time and some of that was his own doing and was part of a scrum that was shunted into reverse. 4
1 Finlay Brewis: Like Newell, he was overwhelmed at scrum time. He weighed in well on defence; the Crusaders did a lot of that on the whole. However, he was part of a forward pack that was backtracking. 3
Replacements: After the first half implosion, the Crusaders bench players were left with an impossible mission to turn things around to keep their title defence alive. Considering that the half-time score was 42-5 and the match ended 49-12, is a testament to how poor the starters played and how well the bench fared. But ultimately, the Crusaders were battered, outclassed and smashed in a manner that they historically handed to other sides. A taste of their own medicine. 6