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Scott Barrett’s honest assessment of Crusaders’ third loss to start season

Willi Heinz of the Crusaders kicking the ball during the round three Super Rugby Pacific match between Fijian Drua and Crusaders at Churchill Park, on March 9, 2024, in Lautoka, Fiji. (Photo by Pita Simpson/Getty Images)

Crusaders captain Scott Barrett has blamed the defending champions’ third-straight loss to start the season on poor execution after they went down to the Fijian Drua 20-10 on Saturday.

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Wing Sevu Reece scored the opening try of the afternoon in the 18th minute to cap off a relatively strong opening quarter from the reigning Super Rugby Pacific champions.

But it was all one-way traffic from there as the Fijian Drua took control. The hosts scored 17 unanswered points as they held a one-score lead going into the final 30 minutes of play.

The Crusaders had a number of opportunities inside the Drua’s half, but time and time again, the men wearing black and red came up short as they failed to claw their way back.

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Fly-half Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula, 20, iced the game with a late penalty goal in the 78th minute. The game was theirs as the Crusaders were left to rue what could’ve been.

“We just didn’t execute,” captain Scott Barrett said on the broadcast after the 10-point defeat.

“We had multiple opportunities down there, particularly around our lineout and we just weren’t sharp and clinical like we’d hoped.”

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The Crusaders are the first team to reach a 0-3 record this season, with the Western Force the only other side searching for their first win at the time of writing.

Without the likes of Richie Mo’unga and lock Sam Whitelock, the defending champions have struggled during their defeats to the Chiefs, Waratahs and now Drua during the opening three rounds.

Mitchell Drummond, Noah Hotham and Willi Heinz have all started at halfback across the three matches, and there has been some rotation at fly-half as well.

With new coach Rob Penney at the helm, the Crusaders seem to still be searching for their new identity and flow in the post-Scott Robertson era.

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“We were clear on our game plan. It was pretty simple and we just didn’t execute,” Barrett added.

“Greasy ball, little opportunities and you give the Fijian Drua a sniff and they’ll really punish you.”

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Comments

2 Comments
S
Scott 250 days ago

The Crusaders simply need to go back to what has made them great- scrum for penalties, driving maul, kick long to corners, and pressure defence.

Save the dazzle-dazzle for the Blues and Hurricanes and just play test rugby like under Razor

N
Nabley 252 days ago

If everything was so well set up, change the captain!

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K
KB 1 hour ago
France outwrestle All Blacks in titanic Test for one-point win

Im guessing you never lived in NZ under r dern and red commie labour

We were forced and in some cases mandated to take the V - I know of 7 people who D taking it and many with untold injuries - Minimium 12 K D in NZ taking it - it was never safe never effective never worked just Maimed and K'd qe were close to being thrown in quarantine camps Oz Govt MO Health have just recenty completed their c commission - they admit they never had the provable data to justify their actions and decisions & that the public will never accept it ever happening again Ardern is hated here ( 1 M patriots forced her out ) - bloomfield her side kick 2IC dr D excempted 11k from taking it - we (not u) know who they were the Pol and Public servants who knew they were fatal - A zeneca pulled it off the market due 2 excess D's - Japan banned them - called them stupid poison -

P M Shinzo Abe opposed the v and sent over a million doses back - because of that he was murdered - So were the heads of several African nations who also opposed the fake v they were k'd and their replacements allowed their countries to be swamped with them - C was V wasnt bought in fo C - C was bought in for the V

Im not here to talk politics but if want to I can all day especially to a RED neck commie like you - whats it going to be Rugby or Politics or mud slinging give me something to think about - surprise me with something meaty - not just word salad


52 Go to comments
K
KB 1 hour ago
France outwrestle All Blacks in titanic Test for one-point win

Im guessing you never lived in NZ under r dern and red commie labour

We were forced and in some cases mandated to take the V - I know of 7 people who D taking it and many with untold injuries - Minimium 12 K D in NZ taking it - it was never safe never effective never worked just Maimed and K'd qe were close to being thrown into quarantine camps C was only a rebranded Flu


Oz Govt MOH have completed their c commission - they admit they never had the proveable data to make justify their statements and decisions & that the public will never accept it ever happening again - they fired rubber B into peaceful protestors Ardern is hated here ( 1 M patriots forced her out ) - bloomfield her side kick 2IC dr D excempted 11k from taking it - we (not u) know who they were the Pol and Public servants who knew they were fatal - A zeneca pulled it off the market due 2 excess D's - Japan banned them - called them stupid poison -

P M Shinzo Abe opposed the v and sent over a million doses back - because of that he was murdered - So were the heads of several African nations who also opposed the fake v they were k'd and their replacements allowed their countries to be swamped with them - C was V wasnt bought in fo C - C was bought in for the V

Im not here to talk politics but if u want to I can all day especially to a RED neck commie like you - whats it going to be Rugby or Politics or mud slinging give me something to think about - surprise me with something meaty - just not word salad


52 Go to comments
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