Carter boots Saders to victory
21 May 2011
JON CARDINELLI reports on the Crusaders’ workmanlike 25-19 win against the Chiefs in Napier.
Dan Carter clinched the game with a drop goal in the 70th minute and finished the game with a personal tally of 20 points. It was an outstanding all-round showing by the All Blacks’ flyhalf who perhaps understood that if the collective was battling for synergy, he would need to take all points on offer.
Continuity is all but impossible when you play against a Chiefs side that specialises in breakdown spoiling. The Crusaders put together some promising phases but were repeatedly undone by the Chiefs hassling and pilfering at ruck time. It didn’t seem to matter that the Crusaders had Richie McCaw in their ranks. The Chiefs disrupted the Crusaders’ momentum, and effected some gut-wrenching breakdown steals.
That being said, McCaw’s men weren’t at their clinical best. Apart from their breakdown inaccuracies, they spilled the ball in contact regularly with the skipper contributing on several occasions. It was a frustrating first half as they turned over quality possession through handling errors, breakdown mistakes and wayward tactical kicks.
Carter was in a creative mood, sniping and probing at the Chiefs’ defensive line. The highlight of the first forty minutes was a linebreak from Carter that earned the Crusaders all of 60m, but unfortunately resulted in another turnover. Carter battled all night to link up with his centres, and that finishing class that was such a big feature of the Crusaders’ game in the first half of the competition was sorely lacking.
While the Chiefs received a number of opportunities to counter-attack, they also surrendered possession all too generously. Apart from their breakdown effort, there wasn’t the same zip and hunger that earned them a win over the Stormers last week.
Their backline failed to make an attacking impact in the first half, and showed their defensive frailty early in the second. It took just three minutes for Luke Romano to bust through a feeble tackle attempt and race away for the first try of the game. Carter converted as the game entered a defining period.
What set the Crusaders apart from the Chiefs was the amount of possession and their ability to create opportunities. By contrast, the Chiefs preferred to live off scraps and weren’t helped by their own ball-in-hand mistakes.
The Crusaders’ change in tactics also played a part in the final result, as Carter looked to kick the ball for his wingers to chase in the second stanza. The Chiefs succumbed to the pressure, and thus struggled to fight their way out of their own half.
The Crusaders didn’t have everything their own way, but played the game at the right end of the park as the clock wound down. Stephen Donald kept the Chiefs in with a chance with some long-range penalty attempts and also nailed a last-gasp conversion to earn a losing bonus point, but it was never going to be enough to force an upset.
87 Comments
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21 May 2011, 10:25 am
@Stormersboy(stormersboy)-39: morning M , whats news old chap??
21 May 2011, 10:25 am
Wow, McCaw is putting Burger’s performance to shame with this stirling effort. (lol, just joking… missed tackles, knock ons and giving penalties away)
sack of ****.
21 May 2011, 10:27 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-47: Yes, almost as if they’ve run out of steam?
21 May 2011, 10:27 am
Crusaders looking very flat but still level on the scoreboard. Thats a Champion team for you. But Chiefs looking far more likely.
21 May 2011, 10:27 am
thorn on to put some fire in the sader belly
21 May 2011, 10:27 am
@Dawn(Dawn)-50: in the stadium toilet booth
21 May 2011, 10:28 am
@Dawn(Dawn)-50:
Sunni Bin Williams is by die huis,hy het n ligte besering dink ek.
21 May 2011, 10:28 am
@Kobus Kitty(Kobus Kitty)-52:
KKK
are you really THAT desperate for attention ?!
abandoned as a child ?
21 May 2011, 10:29 am
try romano
21 May 2011, 10:31 am
saders now 13-6
21 May 2011, 10:33 am
@President_of_the_Sharks_rugby_experts(sharks_lover)-51: hey T, not much, getting a bit of painting done at the house, supervising and watching some Rugger,
Big game later. Want to be finished with chores and beer in hand, rump on the fire by 17h00. Game on in the background of course
2 nice games from my perspective, Cheetahs on a high, could be very entertaining, Bulls vs Sharks an epic matchup.
Good luck to your guys. As ususal in these matchups, I really hope the game isn’t settled by a controversial reffing incident and that the guys don’t kill each other and put someone key out of the WC in their efforts,
Typically don’t hold anything back. Watching this derby at the moment I’m struck by the relative lack of intensity compared to some of the local ones in SA I’ve seen lately….
Could just be me of course
21 May 2011, 10:34 am
chris jack out an saders scrum gets firing?
21 May 2011, 10:34 am
16-6
21 May 2011, 10:36 am
@Stormersboy(stormersboy)-61: true M and enjoy bro ,
yeah as for our match , i stressing i tell ya , bulls know its their last shot or they are done , that makes them more dangerous
21 May 2011, 10:38 am
16-9
21 May 2011, 10:38 am
Kobis there’s only one sack of **** around here and you make Ur self quite obvious by Ur remarks.
21 May 2011, 10:38 am
Fern drop die taal now man.
BP try passing a ball upside down thru your legs to no one in particular in heat of play and see where it goes.
I hate that leg passing anyway. Just like tennis players hitting ball thru their legs. Doesn’t work.
21 May 2011, 10:41 am
@Dawn(Dawn)-67:
Ek is drie talig en kan enige een gebruik.
21 May 2011, 10:43 am
@Fern(Fern)-68: sukuzenza isiyatha apha, ukuba unakana ukuthetha ngamanye amadoda thetha uvakale sityhakala ndini.
21 May 2011, 10:44 am
Die Chiefs is besig om te ver agter teraak,die Crusaders gaan van hier af net die basiese ding doen en die spel stadiger maak tot daaar niks tyd op die klok oor is nie.
21 May 2011, 10:44 am
Am putting this into cyberspace permanently and for posterity:
THANK YOU STORMERS FOR GETTING RID OF ET ONCe AND FOR ALL.
Thank you thank you.
Now can we please have Tacitus back?
21 May 2011, 10:46 am
crusaders playing 2009 Bok gameplan of skop ‘n jag…and lo & behold it’s working
21 May 2011, 10:47 am
Hier begin die Crusaders dit alklaar doen,speel in die regte kant van die veld,sit die druk op die opposisie en wag vir die strafskoppe.
21 May 2011, 10:54 am
Nou gaan die Crusaders hulle wedstrydplan moet verander,daar is genoeg tyd vir die Chiefs en n verdoelde drie sal dit gelykop maak.
21 May 2011, 11:00 am
Schalk Burger reminds me of an under 10 rugby captain. Always trying to be in the thick of things, playing practically every position on the field and by doing it keeping the Stormers from gaining or keeping momentum at times. Bewilders me how the hell he doesn’t realize it, though. He is playing well; great defense and good ball carrying, but AC or someone with guts will have to have a chat to him about just toning the ‘Captain Courageous’ down a bit.
21 May 2011, 11:00 am
n baie goeie skepdoel deur Carter,nou sal die Crusaders net die klok speel.
21 May 2011, 11:06 am
yeah brad thorn the difference in that scrum….
21 May 2011, 11:14 am
yep, skop ‘n jag won the game…no ball-in-hand gung-ho approach when the chips are down…pin them down & force penalties out of them.
21 May 2011, 11:15 am
Hell that was boring – now that the curtain raiser is over it is time for a real rugby match.
ROAR LIONS!
21 May 2011, 11:17 am
@Caper(Caper)-75:
21 May 2011, 11:18 am
@RedLions’ team won … down under(RL)-79: Good luck to your team boet.
21 May 2011, 11:19 am
@Stormersboy(stormersboy)-81: thank you, thank you very much
21 May 2011, 11:32 am
Hmmm, all those geniuses shouting that Chiefs gonna win… What happened, “experts”???
21 May 2011, 12:01 pm
@Caper(Caper)-75: I have been critical of Schalk in the past, but yesterday he played out of his skin.
21 May 2011, 12:18 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-67:
if i did it, Peaches, it probably would go forward. When McAlister did it yest, it didnt.
Its a common 7′s skill, also touch rugby.
When Yannick Noah first hit that shot at the French Open, people thought he was nuts and merely showing off. Now players are not just getting it back, but passing shots and even lobs – yes, from between the legs ! The between-the-legs-lob-shot even has a name – the ‘tweener’.
21 May 2011, 15:00 pm
Crusaders pack is a unit in unison, no matter who plays for that mob, they have a pack that dominates scrums and turn over ball at will. Reds next week and seriously cannot wait for that one. Carter v Cooper.
22 May 2011, 06:01 am
Dan Carter has now added dropped goals to his repertoire…
BE AFRAID! Be VERY afraid!
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