Loftus legend stalks Crusaders
4 May 2006
Crusaders coach Robbie Deans believes Loftus to be the toughest away rugby venue in the Vodacom Super 14, if not the world. And he rates the Bulls as a ‘bloody’ good team.
Deans has spent much of the last two days defending his decision to omit All Blacks star Richie McCaw from the match 22. In explaining his decision he made it clear that he did not believe McCaw, currently, was in a physical state to counter the onslaught of the Bulls.
And he emphasised that the Crusaders needed 22 players who could front up physically at Loftus.
“To have a must-win game and have to play it at Loftus right now, there is probably no tougher venue in the world, to be fair,” Deans told XtraMsn’s Duncan Johnstone. “They are right on top of their game, they are excited about the chance they have got, they have got a crowd that makes a Kiwi crowd look tame and it will be a full house.”
The Crusaders, cruising until a fortnight ago, must win at least one of their last two matches to qualify and they have to win both if they hope to get a home semi-final and potentially a home final.
“We would have liked to have already qualified but we haven’t. It’s going to the wire and that’s typical of this time of year. And that’s what we have observed in the last couple of weeks. We have come up against two teams that were desperate for results. That’s the way it is from this point on. So we are just doing what we believe is in our best interests. Not only to qualify if we are able to achieve that which isn’t a given, but to then push on and then do something.”
Deans told Johnstone that the Bulls were a more complete side this year than the one who thumped the Crusaders 35-20 at Loftus in 2005.
“There’s no doubt the Bulls have expanded their game. They are capable of attacking any channel. They have improved their method of shifting the ball but their ability to carry the ball directly is pretty bloody impressive.”
The Crusaders, very aware of the physical presence of the Bulls, have picked a team with an emphasis on mobility and it is their belief that the route to victory will be in the pace of the game.
“There aren’t too many short cuts on a rugby field and we won’t be trying to avoid them by running around (them). We have to engage them somewhere and where will be determined very much by what they throw at us as well. They will be second-guessing our strategy so it will be very much about responding to what is in front of us.”
293 Comments
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4 May 2006, 15:53 pm
turnover,
ciccino is from Uzbekistan and does not understand afrikaans except the word spuitpoep.( Mcspyker)
He is a Bulls supporter and quite knowledgable on the game.
4 May 2006, 15:56 pm
Wie de hel het vir jou gevra.
Die ou kan vir homself praat.
4 May 2006, 15:59 pm
omdat hy klaar afgelog het ballas.
4 May 2006, 16:03 pm
En wat het dit met jou uit te waai, in elk geval Turnover Ballas?
Hello Stan.
4 May 2006, 16:06 pm
Kitty, you still here?
4 May 2006, 16:07 pm
hallo makker.
Nee sy is op die vliegtuig.
4 May 2006, 16:08 pm
Turnover,
Jy klink soos n Spermer ondersteuner.
Is dit hoekom jou naam turnover is?
4 May 2006, 16:10 pm
and dont they need sperm donations hey ha ha…
maybe his name is turnover for another reason to… ha ha lol…
4 May 2006, 16:12 pm
Miskien is dit n typo, en moet dalk Bendover wees?
4 May 2006, 16:16 pm
Ja , nie meer lank nie dan is dit sulke tyd. Die groot game tussen die Bulls and Crusaders. I am looking forward to this one. It’s going to be one good game. If the Bulls can start like they did against the Sharks than they will win the game , but if they have to come back from behind than it will be over for them. Who’s the ref for this game i wonder ?
4 May 2006, 16:17 pm
36-22 Bulls
4 May 2006, 16:19 pm
Julle druk julle neuste in waar dit nie nodig is nie.
I asked Cicinno cos he/she is the only one who talks rugby here. Almal van julle praat ‘n klomp strond, soos my ouma gese het.
He posts with no regard to puctuation or grammar but jislaaik he is so enthusiastic.
4 May 2006, 16:22 pm
Wyse ouma Turnover… Hier is ‘n paar ouens op hierdie thread wat blykbaar stront rook ook
4 May 2006, 16:27 pm
op wat fre-kwensie is julle?
crusaders will take it 38-17 allthough as much as i hate it, i actually for the 1st time in my life woudnt mind a bulls victory…
and we all talk rugby and can have decent conversations if that is what the site leads to..
4 May 2006, 16:30 pm
Turnover,
With the amount of decent threads in a day, there are only so many sane comments about rugby anybody can make without sounding.. well sounding a bit like you, mate.
The banter that comes along with the rugby makes it a bit more interesting.
ask your Ouma.
4 May 2006, 16:32 pm
Big G,
Hel ou bees, dis n groot stelling daai. dis n klomp punte wat die Crusaders moet aanteken.
Ek glo dit sal close wees, maar die Bulls kan dit vat.
4 May 2006, 16:39 pm
bluebarb i know…
but carter is starting again.. they are gonna be de moered in after their loss… and their backline has got oh so much more flair and strength than the bulls…
4 May 2006, 16:57 pm
Nou begin dit soos die Happy Clapper kerk klink.
Doop n ouma.
4 May 2006, 17:16 pm
Stan 190 was nogal snaaks. Dit het niks met rassisme te doen nie. **** as ons vir Michael Jackson kan lag hoekom nie vir Chris Hani, Bles Bridges of Ge Korsten nie. As ek reg onthou was daar ‘n paar jokes oor EB sonder sensuur.
4 May 2006, 17:19 pm
Bulls 32 Saders 27.
4 May 2006, 17:19 pm
Kitty, why in the world do you wish you were a lawyer?
They are mostly glorified clarks…except for those who appear in court, which are then mostly liëers
4 May 2006, 17:21 pm
Xcretement klim terug in die ossewa.
4 May 2006, 17:22 pm
**** even Deans as a Kiwi can see that the bulls are not one dimensional as some of these Strompies want to make out. Big g jy maak jou naam groot gat. Hoop ons sien jou hier volgende week.
Ek sien self Martin en Pierre wat vir enige span teen die Bulle sal support het nou van deuntjie verander.
Well twhis fick dutchmen are going to drink some wine.
GO Bulls!!!
4 May 2006, 17:23 pm
Turnover gaan naai jou m..
4 May 2006, 17:32 pm
I rest my case.
4 May 2006, 17:40 pm
Xkreni,
Ja, dis die dubbele standaarde van Keo se arbeider, Ig.
Hy se egter niks oor Pierre se post 204 nie, waar velkleur en sodomie weer sterk ter sprake is.
4 May 2006, 17:50 pm
Stan.
So you can dish it out but you can’t ****** take it huh!
4 May 2006, 17:53 pm
bendover,
vergeet dit. ek gaan nie my tyd mors deur te probeer verduidelik nie.
4 May 2006, 17:54 pm
Hmm, I see 365 have got it spot, including the guppies getting a klap from the Stormers. And those fellas are never wrong.
4 May 2006, 17:54 pm
Stan – prehaps because one was a racially and politcally motivated assination and the other one of your breathern beating the **** out of helpless fellow – if you can’t see the difference i suggest a frontal lobotomy…..
4 May 2006, 17:57 pm
Hey.
Moenie upset raak nie. Jy vertel jokes oor Chris Hani maar Pierre kan nie jokes oor Eugene post nie?
Dubbele standaarde.
4 May 2006, 17:57 pm
Ciccino,
the reason the Buoflls were celebrating was because of the way Mat’s Klapped that fool pretender *******.
4 May 2006, 18:00 pm
Buoflls?? What the hell is that?? I meant Monster Bulls.
4 May 2006, 18:00 pm
Praat asb sin Bluecap
4 May 2006, 18:02 pm
bendover,
Fok vir ET. Dit het niks met Hnai se velkleur te doen nie, hy was geskiet omdat hy n Kommunis was. Dit kon net sowel Slovo gewees het.
Hier lê ou Joe, lankal dood en fokkol huise gebou.
Verstaan jy?
Ig, Hani was not assisnated, he was executed.
4 May 2006, 18:05 pm
ek spel nou amper so sleg soos big g…..
4 May 2006, 18:06 pm
stan – i can’t actually repond to that. other than to say that you are possibly the saddest human i have ever spoken too. possible the worst. i wish you no evil. but you really need to learn that your opinion offends others and considering what has gone before us and what is coming – you the one heading to extinction.
4 May 2006, 18:09 pm
Stan. Rubbish.
Don’t try and sound clever with semantics.
No one brought up Hani se velkleur except you. And since when is it OK to shoot someone cos he’s a communist.
Assasinated or executed … doesn’t matter. He still died before his time.
4 May 2006, 18:11 pm
Yes bendover,
and so did 5000 elderly people on their farms over the last 3 years.
4 May 2006, 18:17 pm
Earlier Ciccino was saying he can’t stand all this celebrating after a try.
4 May 2006, 18:24 pm
and i agree, not that i moffie-phobic, but let play the game and celebrate at the end – with beers!
4 May 2006, 18:29 pm
Ciccino has great style.
4 May 2006, 18:30 pm
Don’t disagree Stan. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.
Everyone lost loved ones.
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