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Ireland's loss is the Crusaders gain

Crusaders prop Oli Jager

The Crusaders have secured the services of three of their front rowers for the coming seasons. Hooker Ben Funnell and loosehead prop Tim Perry have re-signed through to 2019, while tighthead prop Oliver Jager has signed through to 2020.

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Irishman Jager played for the Ireland U18 Schools side in 2013. The new year he decided to pursue his rugby dream in New Zealand, playing club rugby in Christchurch.  Three years on and Jager has cemented himself as a valued member of New Brighton RFC, Canterbury Mitre 10 Cup side and Crusaders.

Crusaders coach Scott Robertson describes him as a man of great character with a bright future.

“Oli is still very young but has shown huge maturity in the decisions he has made about his career and in the way he trains and plays.  It has been a rapid rise for him, but he has never let himself be over-awed or fazed by the fact he is training and playing alongside many of the best front-rowers in the world.

“It is testament to all of these players that they know they will continue to learn off the All Black front-rowers in this squad and replicate what they have achieved. All three players continue to have a massive contribution to make to this team and we are thrilled that they are Crusaders.” Robertson said.

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Nickers 33 minutes ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

I thought we made a lot of progress against that type of defence by the WC last year. Lots of direct running and punching holes rather than using width. Against that type of defence I think you have to be looking to kick on first phase when you have front foot ball which we did relatively successfully. We are playing a lot of rugby behind the gain line at the moment. They are looking for those little interchanges for soft shoulders and fast ball or off loads but it regularly turns into them battering away with slow ball and going backwards, then putting in a very rushed kick under huge pressure.


JB brought that dimension when he first moved into 12 a couple of years ago but he's definitely not been at his best this year. I don't know if it is because he is being asked to play a narrow role, or carrying a niggle or two, but he does not look confident to me. He had that clean break on the weekend and stood there like he was a prop who found himself in open space and didn't know what to do with the ball. He is still a good first phase ball carrier though, they use him a lot off the line out to set up fast clean ball, but I don't think anyone is particularly clear on what they are supposed to do at that point. He was used really successfully as a second playmaker last year but I don't think he's been at that role once this year. He is a triple threat player but playing a very 1 dimensional role at the moment. He and Reiko have been absolutely rock solid on defence which is why I don't think there will be too much experimentation or changes there.

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