RUGBY SUPER 15 Crusaders 44 Sharks 28:ADVERSITY BRINGS out the best in some people. It will take more than a decent 80 minutes of rugby to rebuild the ruins of central Christchurch but a spectacular win for the Crusaders achieved some important goals in the London sunshine.
The occasion not only raised €200,000 in ticket revenue alone to help victims of last month’s earthquake but will have done almost as much for the morale of those clearing up the mess.
Last but by no means least this was the day when several fond, smug northern hemisphere assumptions were systematically torn apart. Yes, the weather was glorious and conditions perfect for running rugby. Yes, there were 22 internationals on the field at kick-off. Yes, a few tackles went astray. But long before the Crusaders wing Sean Maitland scored the decisive ninth try of a pulsating match it was equally clear that those who reckon the Super 15 has nothing to teach its European counterparts inhabit the myopic land of cloudy cuckoos.
In terms of attacking running lines it was like being transported in from a distant galaxy. Candyfloss? Hardly. The Sharks pack averaged almost 18 stone per man. Owen Franks, the All Blacks prop, smashed everything that moved and it was a minor miracle Ryan Kankowski played on after receiving a shoulder hit from Sonny Bill Williams which would have hospitalised most players. Just as striking was the scrummaging venom of the Crusaders’ forwards as they splintered an all-Springbok front-row comprising John Smit and the Du Plessis brothers.
From first to last it amounted to a crusade for positivity. Williams, the king of the offload, was even more impressive at times than he looked against England in November and the entire Crusaders backline buzzed with intent. Orchestrating it all was Dan Carter, who scored 22 points before limping off with a tweaked right hamstring. If British coaches want a microcosm of what a decent 10-12 axis looks like, they should simply watch the outhalf’s 21st-minute try, a gloriously slick blur of motion which saw big Williams give the perfect one-handed scoring pass to his team-mate.
The precision-engineered interplay between Andrew Ellis and Robbie Fruean for Israel Daggs subsequent score was almost as good, a far cry from the own-brand bashing which passes as backline sophistication in certain English clubs.
Just to rub it in, Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder said his team would be “disappointed with a lot of that second-half”, having seen the Sharks mount a stout fightback on the back of two tries in three minutes by Alistair Hargreaves and Odwa Ndungane. With 28 minutes left they trailed by just nine points at 37-28, finished off only when Zac Guildford’s neat pass sent Maitland in for his second try.
Guardian Service
