‘Disgraceful’ – Under the cosh Crusaders boss lashes out at journo in foul-mouthed rant

Crusaders boss Rob Penney has lashed out at a journalist in New Zealand after some tough questions ahead of the Super Rugby Pacific clash against the Blues.

Penney replaced Scott Roberston as the Crusaders boss after the latter took on the All Blacks top job.

After winning seven successive Super Rugby titles under Robertson, it’s been a disappointing season for the Saders, winning just two of their 12 matches.

The poor run of form has understandably resulted in questions about Penney’s future in the role with the Canterbury-based side beyond this season.

Rob Penney’s future with the Crusaders

However, the head coach was defiant on Wednesday when speaking about his future.

“Absolutely,” he said when asked if he expects to be in the role next season and emphatically stated “No” when asked if he would consider stepping aside.

He was also asked whether he was tempted to put a line through this season and turn attention to 2025.

“Absolutely not,” he replied.

“I love this group and I know what they’re capable of. You only have to reflect back to a few seasons ago to I think 2001 when the Crusaders, after winning three in a row, finished 10th.

“Then they went through unbeaten in 2002. I’m not sure where all this… the doom and gloom is not something we’re buying into.”

He was rather combative with 1News, too, when asked about how the players are feeling about his performance in the role and if he is getting feedback from them.

“I get it every minute of every day. They are personal conversations which I’m not prepared to share with you,” he said.

Asked if the players support him, he added: “I wouldn’t be here if they didn’t.”

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Disgrace

After the interview, Penney was unhappy with the line of questioning and while still mic’d up, he lashed out.

“He’s a disgrace that c**t, who’s he?” he said to a Crusaders’ member of staff.

A video of the incident has been shared online, and while some were sympathetic to Penney, who did not lash out at the reporter directly, others added that it was not a good look for him or the team.

If my team was 2-10 I probably wouldn’t call a journalist a cunt pic.twitter.com/wZoIsG836q

— Jamie Wall (@JamieWall2) May 22, 2024

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“He’s going to be regretting that. I assume there was a bit more to the line of questions that got him worked up before this though. Start updating that CV Rob!” one reply read.

Another added: “It was a tough one. The tone of some of the questions were bad but overall fair inquiry. RP was defensive from the outset and that didn’t help. Hot mic’ing himself while death staring in TM’s direction was extremely poor form. A defending champ’s 2-10 record deserves scrutiny.”

The Crusaders’ record this season means that they will not reach the Super Rugby Pacific knockout stages, meaning their title defence has all but officially ended.

The results means that Penney’s job is under threat and for some, this outburst suggested that he knows that.

“The journo didn’t ask him anything ‘disgraceful’. Penney knows his time is up,” one reply read.

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