Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Crusaders player ratings vs Chiefs | Super Rugby Pacific

Cullen Grace. (Photo by John Davidson/Photosport)

A commendable defensive effort from the Crusaders has seen them topple the Chiefs and draw one step closer to their 13th title.

ADVERTISEMENT

Despite being on the wrong side of the territory and possession percentages as well as the tackle and penalty tally, the hosts were clinical with the chances afforded to them and were resolute in keeping the Waikato-based outfit at bay.

Their discipline will need to be addressed if they’re to secure another trophy, but Scott Robertson will be proud of his team’s effort given all they endured on the stat sheet and having played for close to half an hour with only 14 men.

Video Spacer

Picking an All Blacks squad to take on Ireland.

Video Spacer

Picking an All Blacks squad to take on Ireland.

Here’s how the Crusaders rated:

1. George Bower – 5/10
Would have been disappointed with the missed tackle on Angus Ta’avao that saw him score, but was otherwise solid in all other instances. Looks to be a choice between him and Ethan de Groot for the No 1 jersey in Ian Foster’s side.

2. Codie Taylor – 5
Managed to clock up double digits in the tackle column (11) before being substituted for McAlister at the break – must have had some sort of niggle.

3. Oli Jager – 5
Did well to look fresh as long as he did after so many scrum resets, not to mention the repeat efforts he made when soaking up wave after wave of Chiefs attack.

4. Scott Barrett – 7
An instrumental performance from the skipper in what would have seen him under more stress than other weeks with Sam Whitelock’s late withdrawal. Relentless in his pursuit of the ball carrier and laid it all on the line when asked to truck it up or absorb the contact.

ADVERTISEMENT

5. Zach Gallagher – 4
A mixed bag from the youngster. Spilled a great attacking chance at a lineout and penalised on a couple of occasions to relieve the opposition of any pressure. It’d be remiss not to mention his security at all his other jumps, though, and the zero misses in 20 attempts on D.

6. Pablo Matera – 2
Sent to the naughty chair for repeated infringements in the 20th minute. Was back on the field for roughly a minute before receiving his second yellow for a high shot on Gatland.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by RugbyPass (@rugbypass)

7. Tom Christie – 6
It’s almost inevitable that when this guy gets a start he’ll have made the most use of shoulders in comparison to everyone else on the park. The openside was responsible for more than 13 per cent of the Crusaders’ tackles having tallied 30 out of the 222.

ADVERTISEMENT

8. Cullen Grace – 8
On a night that saw the game fall in the hands of the forwards, it was Grace whose display spoke the loudest. Showed great speed off the mark before extending his inspector-gadget-like arm over for his first score and kept his torso warm on a chilly evening with a feast of collisions.

9. Bryn Hall – 5
Yapped away at his pack until the sign went up in the 50th minute to bring his night to a close. Did a great job of making life difficult for Brad Weber by harassing him at every chance while also nailing his core duties in less than desirable conditions.

10. Richie Mo’unga – 6
Big-time players make big-time plays. His pressure on Alex Nankivell to force a drop that then turned into a five-metre scrum at the other end of the field was a game-changer, but to then follow it up by slipping past Ta’avao before laying on the perfect pass to Grace for his second was just remarkable.

11. Leicester Fainga’anuku – 5
Huge intercept on the stroke of halftime to prevent the Chiefs from cutting the deficit. Was only forced into making a handful of other defensive efforts as well as having quiet but effective contributions with the ball.

12. David Havili – 5
His night looked to have ended early after taking a knee from Pita Gus Sowakula to the cheek; however, he showed no signs of care for the knock after returning from his HIA and was one of a number of Crusaders who seemed to be getting off the deck every second phase.

13. Jack Goodhue – 6
A real blue-collar performance from the ever-consistent All Black. Carried hard, flexed his kicking game when required and finished as the top tackler in the backs (17) without a single miss.

14. Sevu Reece – 5
The weather meant the Fijian flyer wouldn’t be afforded the same chances he’d usually be getting, although this didn’t make him any less interested in tonight’s proceedings. Tackled everything down his channel and was the first one to celebrate the small wins with his teammates.

Related

15. Will Jordan – 7
Posed a threat with every touch, but was even more impactful on the flip side. The effort he showed in covering on numerous occasions was pivotal in keeping the Chiefs out of their in-goal area and demonstrated to the rugby public that there’s more to his game than just crossing the chalk.

Reserves:

16. Brodie McAlister – 6
Replaced Taylor at the interval and came up with a couple of big turnovers as part of the red and black wall.

17. Tamaiti Williams – 6
Made use of all 140kg of him while also doing a number on the Chiefs’ reserve props at scrum time.

18. Fletcher Newell – 5
Not quite as noticeable as Williams around the park, but did his part to keep things steady at the set piece.

19. Quinten Strange – 5
Returned to the action earlier than expected after sustaining a calf injury back in April. Battled away after being thrust into the fire for the final quarter.

20. Corey Kellow – N/A
Got a handful of minutes off the bench.

21. Mitchell Drummond – 5
Not as influential as we’ve come to expect, although he didn’t put a foot wrong either.

22. Braydon Ennor – N/A
On for Goodhue in the 67th minute.

23. George Bridge – 5
A couple of nice kick takes and runs in his brief cameo.

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

3 Comments
I
Ian 877 days ago

The chap that did the ratings , was he at the game.

A
Alvin 878 days ago

Some of these ratings are bullshit. It appears the reviewer has a standard template for the ratings. The ratings also need to take into perspective the nature of the game too. Surely no player will get a 5 or 6 or 7 in a team which won with 30% territory, 30% possession, wrong side of penalty count, playing with 14 mem for large periods, and having to make 222. Seriously bull shit ratings.

J
JB 878 days ago

These ratings are rarely very accurate. Players barely get a pass mark unless they do the flash stuff. Brodie McAlister was outstanding off the bench for the Crusaders (I’m a Chiefs fan) but he was given a 6/10. David Havili outplayed Tupaea (who butchered a try and kept coughing up the pill) but he got the same rating.

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

O
Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING 'World-class finisher' offers All Blacks selection solution Mark Tele'a scores a double at Allianz Stadium
Search