Why this semi-final is the Blues' best shot at the champs

No visiting team has won a playoff game in Christchurch, ever. 27 years of Super Rugby have provided 28 home fixtures for the Crusaders and the men in red and black have emerged victorious in each of those games. That record will again be on the line this weekend when a familiar rival ventures south for a mouth-watering semi-final.

The Crusaders finished their quarter-final with just 13 men on the pitch, not due to ill-discipline, but injury. While some withdrawals were claimed to be precautionary with the game all but decided, there is concern the reigning champions will have to reach even further into the well in order to make up the numbers for their remaining playoff games.

The Blues are not without injury concerns of their own, Patrick Tuipolotu has been ruled out with a broken arm and Caleb Clarke was absent in their quarter-final with a quad issue.

The Crusaders though are testing their depth to a different level, 11 members of their squad are unavailable to them with the potential for that number to increase once the weekend’s toll has been fully assessed. That number includes six All Blacks.

Former gold medalist with the All Black Sevens, Karl Te Nana joined Sky’s The Breakdown panel this week and agreed with former All Black Mils Muliaina that this Blues team possesses the ability to punish teams in ways last season’s side couldn’t.

“The Blues at the moment, they’re finding ways to score and they’re quite explosive,” he said. “Very different from last season. I think the Blues have got that X-factor that they can strike from anywhere.”

While Beauden Barrett faced criticism over his from early in the season, the backline for the Blues has developed chemistry throughout the season and no one can deny the threat that right winger Mark Telea poses, having scored 12 tries this season – equalling a Blues record.

Adding to the challenge for the Crusaders will be the Blues’ new kicking tactics, which include the long-range boot of Zarn Sullivan. The expected Christchurch conditions could well make for a kick-heavy night and while the Crusaders are used to getting the upper hand in the kicking duels, they’ll be without one of their top options.

“It was minus two (degrees) when we left this morning,” Jeff Wilson told The Breakdown panel. “It’s going to be the same (on Friday).

“It’s going to be more and more difficult to play any of that expansive rugby and shifting the ball. They’re going to need to have their kicking game on point and that’s the big challenge I see for Will Jordan playing fullback for the Crusaders because Zarn Sullivan is going to do that for the Blues.

“With no David Havili to help with that load, I think that will be significant in this matchup.”

The Crusaders lept into the lead in their quarter-final matchup with the Fijian Drua, scoring twice in the opening five minutes. Coming out of the gates strong has been a feature of the team’s winning run and Wilson expects the opening minutes to have a strong influence on the outcome of the match come Friday.

“The critical part for me will be the first 20 minutes of this game, if you step up, you stand up and you make a statement early that there’s nowhere you can dominate us, then the Blues will go a long way to winning it.”