David Havili hails ‘rugby knowledge’ in Crusaders camp after victory over Blues
Crusaders captain David Havili and head coach Rob Penney.
Crusaders head coach Rob Penney couldn’t hide his delight after his side clinched a deserved 42-19 win over the Blues in their Super Rugby Pacific clash at Eden Park on Saturday.
As the scoreline suggests, it was a dominant performance which paved the way to a bonus-point victory for the Crusaders against their arch rivals who are the tournament’s defending champions.
Momentous victory for Penney
The result was a momentous one for Penney as it was the Crusaders‘ first away victory since he took over the coaching reins from current All Blacks boss Scott Robertson last year.
The Crusaders are the most successful side in Super Rugby history and won seven Super Rugby titles in a row between 2017 and 2023 under Robertson’s guidance.
However, they had a forgetful 2024 campaign under Penney as they only won four out of 14 matches during the season which meant they failed to reach Super Rugby’s play-offs the first time since 2015.
During last year’s campaign the Crusaders had to wait until Round Six for their first victory and they are currently in second position in the standings – with four wins amassed from five matches – at the same stage in the competition.
“All you’re ever after as a coach is for the boys to express themselves and feel as though they getting something out of the game and and loving their time in the jersey,” said Penney.
“What made it hard last year was we were searching for things to try to get it to turn, but it was just not happening.”
The Christchurch-based outfit were decimated by injuries last year and although they had a similar issue this year, it is not as bad as 2025 and Penney admitted that it’s great to have more players available for selection.
Happy to have depth in his ranks
“What’s a real pleasure to have the depth,” he said.
“We’ve got a group that’s really, really talented. Like we moved Chay (Fihaki) to the side to give Macca (Springer) an opportunity and he took his opportunity. So Chay’s come back in and he took his opportunity again.
“It’s a joy to have the depth and the attitude of the boys is they’re just supporting each other 100 percent. Whoever gets the opportunity, they’re just so focused on doing the right thing.”
Crusaders captain David Havili echoed his coach’s sentiments saying it’s great to play alongside some great attacking players.
“I think there’s just a lot of rugby knowledge in that backline, you’ve got James O’Connor who’s been to multiple World Cups and played around the world,” said Havili.
“And then you put him with Will Jordan. Then you got guys like Sevu Reece with finishing power, and you just want to give him one on ones. Certainly the prep that goes in during the week is really, really thorough.”
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