Super Rugby Pacific: Five takeaways from the quarter-final including Crusaders’ cream rising to the top

David Skippers
Codie Taylor Crusaders v Fijian Drua SRP 2023 - alamy.jpg

Following the Crusaders’ 49-8 victory over the Fijian Drua in Christchurch on Saturday, Planet Rugby picks out five takeaways from the Super Rugby Pacific play-off action.

Will Jordan returns to form

After spending most of the season on the sidelines for most of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific campaign due to an ongoing migraine-related illness, Jordan returned to action last month.

Although he has delivered solid performances since his return, the 25-year-old did not reach the heights of previous seasons were his excellence on attack was one of the Crusaders and All Blacks’ strengths.

He was back to his best against the Drua, however, as he caught the eye with superb game management and a fine attacking display. Jordan finished with 95 metres gained from 12 runs which included two clean breaks and offload and a try for his efforts.

The visitors’ defence battled to keep him in check and apart from a wayward pass, which led to the Drua‘s only try, he will be happy with his performance.

Poor start proves costly for Fijian Drua

Although the Fijian Drua were competitive for long periods of this match, they will be kicking themselves for their poor start which meant they were chasing the game from the outset.

It all went awry right at the start when Teti Tela’s kick off failed to travel the necessary 10 metres and that put the Crusaders on the front foot. The defending champions made full use of that opportunity and were rewarded with a try from Oli Jager as early as the second minute.

They continued to hold the upper-hand during the rest of the half and were leading 21-0 after just 15 minutes and 28-8 by the interval. To their credit, the Drua did not surrender and came back strongly as the match progressed but the damage was done during the opening quarter when they battled against their hosts.

Crusaders’ injury woes continue

The men from Christchurch came into this encounter after a terrible year on the injury front and they were already without the services of several All Blacks like Sevu Reece, Joe Moody, David Havili, Cullen Grace and Sam Whitelock.

One international star who made his return to action via the replacements bench was star back-row Ethan Blackadder but he did not last long as he left the field after just five minutes of action midway through the second half with an unspecified injury.

Things went to bad to worse for the defending champions on the injury front as shortly after Blackadder’s exit Zach Gallagher, who replaced the All Black, also limped off with a calf complaint which meant the Crusaders finished the match with 14 players on the field as all their substitutions were made by then.

The cream rises to the top

We have already mentioned Jordan’s excellent performance, but apart from him there were other stalwarts in the Crusaders ranks who deserve special praise as they too delivered the goods in this encounter.

Amongst the forwards, their captain, Scott Barrett, led his troops well with a solid display at the coalface of the forward battle alongside the likes of Tom Christie and Codie Taylor, who also caught the eye with the execution of his core duties and he was rewarded with a brace of tries for his efforts.

Another player, who caught the eye up front was number eight Christian Lio-Willie, who made his mark with some powerful runs, while amongst the backs Mo’unga, Jack Goodhue, Braydon Ennor and Leicester Fainga’anuku also shone on attack.

Crusaders’ set-piece dominance paves the way to victory

The Crusaders came into this encounter with a lower scrum success rate in the competition than the Drua, who were third in that category behind the Chiefs and Hurricanes, while the champions were seventh in that department.

However, it was a fine performance from the home side’s forwards in the scrums which paved the way to victory for them with especially loosehead prop Tamaiti Williams dominating his direct duel against Mesake Doge.

It was a similar performance in the lineouts, where the Crusaders are amongst the tournament’s leading teams while the Drua are right at the bottom with the lowest success rate. That certainly showed as the likes of Barrett and second-row partner Quinten Strange won the bulk of the balls and they also did well to disrupt the Drua’s throw-ins.

READ MORE: WATCH: Will Jordan making try scoring look so simple for the Crusaders against Fijian Drua

Crusaders Will Jordan

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