2014 Super Rugby: Hurricanes v Crusaders (Round 17)

[austingtir]

I thought Fonotia was horrible for the Saders they need to look around and find someone else imo.

 

[Darwin]

I thought Fonotia was horrible for the Saders they need to look around and find someone else imo.

I thought Fonotia was ok. He was strong on defense, ran hard with ball in hand, and didn't make an error that I can recall. There is no doubt he is a limited at this level so I certainly don't see him as a long term prospect, but at this stage I think he is the best option the Crusaders have. Tom Taylor hasn't really played that well this season (even in his best position at 12), Lee-lo has been disappointing (he's just as limited as Fonotia, but made far more errors), while Adam Whitelock has never been anything other than a solid player (at best) at this level (and is focusing a lot on 7's at the moment).

The biggest problem with the Crusaders backline at the moment is no necessarily the personal (though they are were missing some key players), but rather the way they are playing. Slade is standing miles behind the advantage line and simply shoveling the ball on to Crotty, which is making the backline attack very lateral. At his best Slade (like Carter) plays a lot flatter and hits the line at pace which gets the backline going straight, which is something we seldom saw last night (though they did look a bit better once Carter came on). I do think Carter will add a lot to the backline once he is back to full fitness. He was certainly taking the ball to the line a lot once he came on, it may just take him a few weeks to fully get back into stride....

 

[austingtir]

I thought Fonotia was ok. He was strong on defense, ran hard with ball in hand, and didn't make an error that I can recall. There is no doubt he is a limited at this level so I certainly don't see him as a long term prospect, but at this stage I think he is the best option the Crusaders have. Tom Taylor hasn't really played that well this season (even in his best position at 12), Lee-lo has been disappointing (he's just as limited as Fonotia, but made far more errors), while Adam Whitelock has never been anything other than a solid player (at best) at this level (and is focusing a lot on 7's at the moment).

The biggest problem with the Crusaders backline at the moment is no necessarily the personal (though they are were missing some key players), but rather the way they are playing. Slade is standing miles behind the advantage line and simply shoveling the ball on to Crotty, which is making the backline attack very lateral. At his best Slade (like Carter) plays a lot flatter and hits the line at pace which gets the backline going straight, which is something we seldom saw last night (though they did look a bit better once Carter came on). I do think Carter will add a lot to the backline once he is back to full fitness. He was certainly taking the ball to the line a lot once he came on, it may just take him a few weeks to fully get back into stride....

I dont think Carter can save them unless he totally ignores whatever rubbish Blackadder has been feeding this team. The forward pack is incredibly dominant and its just crazy that this backline cant function worth a damn even with the personnel they have.

 

[Darwin]

I dont think Carter can save them unless he totally ignores whatever rubbish Blackadder has been feeding this team. The forward pack is incredibly dominant and its just crazy that this backline cant function worth a damn even with the personnel they have.

Dan Carter won't be able to 'save' them on his own, but even if he isn't in top form he will help. Obviously the Crusaders need to make some changes to their backline play, but these are tweaks to the gameplan, rather than a complete overhaul. There is no doubt their backline can be a major weapon when it fires. They put 50 points on both the Reds and the Cheetahs, and 40 points on the Brumbies. They are using essentially the same structures the Canterbury use, and it has worked pretty well for them (I think they have won the last 6 ITM Cups!). Whether they are able to make the necessary adjustments is yet to be seen, but if they do they could have a very potent backline when the likes or Carter, Nadolo, and Dagg are back starting....