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Whitelock proud of champion Crusaders

05 Aug 2017

Seta Tamanivalu seeks to make ground for the Crusaders

Crusaders captain Sam Whitelock hailed the “true grit” of his side after they claimed an eighth Super Rugby crown with victory over the Lions in Johannesburg.

Although the hosts staged an admirable late fightback with 14 men after falling 22 points down and losing Kwagga Smith to a 39th-minute red card, the Crusaders were able to triumph 25-17.

“I’m just so proud of the boys and the way they’ve fronted [up], especially today,” said Whitelock during the post-match presentation.

“It’s just been an amazing year. The Lions are a great side, they’ve shown it all year. They’ve scored a massive amount of points. We knew we had to keep playing, keep attacking.

“Full credit to them, they put us under a massive amount of pressure. The boys just showed their true grit that I know they have.”

We did it! That's full time and the @crusadersrugby have the 2017 Super Rugby title! Thank you to our incredible supporters for everything!
— Crusaders (@crusadersrugby) August 5, 2017

Lions skipper Jaco Kriel was gracious in defeat and showed emotion as he paid tribute to the club’s outgoing players and coach Johan Ackermann, who will now take over Premiership side Gloucester.

“It was really an incredible year for us. I’m really proud of every single one of them,” said Kriel after the Lions’ second successive final loss.

“It’s not the way we want to send out our players that are going away and it’s not the way we want to send away coach, but we really love them and we wish them all the best.

“Well done to the Crusaders, they’re a championship side.”

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Comments on RugbyPass

NB 5 minutes ago

Elegant or turbulent? Can Les give the Wallabies the Kiss of Life?

OJ will be happy although we never see him around here on the rare occasions he is! Pity, I’d like to see what it looks like, he’s such a miserable git🤣

13 Go to comments

NB 7 minutes ago

Elegant or turbulent? Can Les give the Wallabies the Kiss of Life?

True tackle completion % is one of the most useless single stats in rugby M!

The main concern is that Reds are still very much a work in progress and I’m surprised the support for Les as WB head man has been so firm.

I can see it working if Joe becomes involved again in 2027 but otherwise a huge gamble.

13 Go to comments

MM 12 minutes ago

Finn Russell enjoys his return to Scotland as Bath beat Edinburgh to reach final

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0 Go to comments

RedWarriors 14 minutes ago

Why ‘the curse of the Bambino’ is still stronger than ever at Leinster

@NB There was a lot that went wrong for Leinster. Not selecting Barrett was a mistake.

But how much do you think the lack of competitive matches meant vulnerabilities and weaknesses were not exposed and addressed in previous matches. A good coaching team like Northampton’s then had a lot to work with giving Leinster a lot of problems to fix all at once on the day.

French teams and indeed English teams who are CC contenders are getting weekly matches where weaknesses are being probed and end game tactics are been often tested in the fire.

I know Leinster can mitigate some of this in training but hard matches create more hardened and rounded teams.

Perhaps Leinster need to start looking at playing their best teams away in SA (6N release permitting) and the main team playing the match (or most of it) preceding the big matches.

50-60 mins against Scarlets would have helped that team a lot.

95 Go to comments

dw 17 minutes ago

Why ‘the curse of the Bambino’ is still stronger than ever at Leinster

Yes England seem on the rise.

Speaking of Barrett his brothers team the Blues seem to have hit some form as expected late in the season!

Also I suspect Ramm, Scott-Young and Kemeny are all benefiting from their time at saints? Would like to see them return as better players as most do….

95 Go to comments

dw 19 minutes ago

Why ‘the curse of the Bambino’ is still stronger than ever at Leinster

Under Joe S he has a 100% record against England;)

95 Go to comments

RedWarriors 21 minutes ago

Why ‘the curse of the Bambino’ is still stronger than ever at Leinster

Versus Connacht in the Aviva they were 12 up (3 tries) with 10 to go against a Cannacht team playing very well. They had an easy three to secure the win but kicked for corner.

Connacht repelled the attack and Leinster got carded after a Connacht turnover. Connacht went up the pitch and scored and made it a 5 point match.

Leinster then won another (harder but kickable) penalty. Another confab started before Barrett went up and told Byrne to kick for goal.

The onfield decision making seems to have fallen between two stools. This surely should have been addressed before now if they are covering all angles?

95 Go to comments

Ed the Duck 23 minutes ago

Why ‘the curse of the Bambino’ is still stronger than ever at Leinster

I’d say the difference between Bath and Saints v Leinster is the experience of last year for Saints and the, dare I say it, complacency of Bath; apropos Bennetton away. Bath are earning their stripes and I’d expect them to learn the lessons of last years Prem and this years CC, perhaps even all the way to a Prem & Challenge Cup double.

As for Leinster, when you’ve got people who are still close to the team, the club and Irish rugby overall, like Rob Kearney shooting from the lip, then it’s definitely indicative of a prevailing mindset. Add in the results evidence to the mix and it’s nigh on impossible to dispute. As you say, they were most definitely looking in the wrong direction for their mindset prep!

95 Go to comments

RedWarriors 25 minutes ago

Why ‘the curse of the Bambino’ is still stronger than ever at Leinster

He also compliments Prendergast more and allows Ringrose more space.

95 Go to comments

RedWarriors 28 minutes ago

Why ‘the curse of the Bambino’ is still stronger than ever at Leinster

To be fair it is extremely difficult for Leinster to get the competitive matches in the URC to prepare for these really big matches. It is not just the end game, hard matches in the lead up expose weaknesses which can be shored up before the next match. NH identified all of these weaknesses and sent a man through every one of them, sometimes more than once.

95 Go to comments

RedWarriors 32 minutes ago

Why ‘the curse of the Bambino’ is still stronger than ever at Leinster

They should have started Barrett. Prendergast has more space with Barrett playing. He frees Ringrose up also.

Northampton scored 3 quickfire tries without reply before half time. Their first was very much against the run of play. I don’t think Leinster not expecting that barrage of tries was them underestimating NH.

I feel that Leinster are not getting competitive matches to prepare them for these tight endgame scenarios. That said match management should have seen them take the first 3 points and/or execute the tap. Conan seemed to be confabbing with Barrett and Prendergast. A levelled match would have been a significant blow to NH and with Leinster winning the second half 22-10 would have been heavy favourites to win another 20 minutes.

95 Go to comments

Ed the Duck 35 minutes ago

Why ‘the curse of the Bambino’ is still stronger than ever at Leinster

Arrogance, complacency, chokers or maybe just a little of all three!

95 Go to comments

je 36 minutes ago

Ilona Maher drops biggest retirement hint yet after loss to Canada

Bit disappointed on this, she gave English Womens Rugby such a boost, would have liked to have seen a few seasons at the coalface vs a 6 month temp contract. The fyre festival of womens rugby…

3 Go to comments

tf 1 hour ago

'Flustered' Prendergast in 'system where decisions are all made for him'

It’s like tackle school 101. Start on your knees as the other 10 year old walks towards you.

It isnt just how he hits it’s his positioning and pace. He got skinned by Ramm (I think) for the first try. He chased the kick but could deal with a small swerve, then turned slower than Freddie Stewart on an ice rink.

He really is a great prospect and if it wasnt a Lions year everybody would give him another year to improve. This is why there is so much scrutiny.

3 Go to comments

GrahamVF 1 hour ago

Why ‘the curse of the Bambino’ is still stronger than ever at Leinster

Sasha keeps my heart in my mouth with his head on tackling. He has made some very dominant tackles for the Stormers in the past few games and also he is a great cover defender. Manie has made some classic corner flag tackles to save tries. If the 10 is retiring to backfield he should be sweeping - that didn’t work out too well for SP. He just doesn’t seem to have the appetite for tackling - he plays more like Naas Botha of old.

95 Go to comments

MT 1 hour ago

'Flustered' Prendergast in 'system where decisions are all made for him'

He’s a highly skilled rugby player. I remember similar discussions about Sexton, Jack Carty at Connacht and others. He’s been pushed forward by Leinster because of what he’s been doing in training. Frawley has been put back as a utility player. The Byrnes are both probably leaving Leinster. His defence is poor, and I agree with most of what has been said on this post. He should have been sent out to Connacht or Ulster to gain more experience before being made no 1 Fly in Ireland. Crowley is ahead of him, in my opinion.

3 Go to comments

Mitch 1 hour ago

Elegant or turbulent? Can Les give the Wallabies the Kiss of Life?

My comment about stats was a lead-in to how having good tackle completion stats don’t necessarily mean you're a good defensive team. I wasn’t disputing anything you wrote.

The Brumbies game a few weeks ago was when I became concerned about Les as a Wallabies coach and I haveh’t seen enough to be anything more than hopeful he’ll succeed

13 Go to comments

JW 1 hour ago

Stats highlight Henry Pollock's Lions-hearted performance

Looks like a beefier Oli Mathis, beautiful balance and speed. Hope it’s not coached out of him.

4 Go to comments

GrahamVF 1 hour ago

Elegant or turbulent? Can Les give the Wallabies the Kiss of Life?

I am as neutral as can be but I agree with your reservations. His original speciality is D. He was D coach for the Boks in 21/22 and their record in those years on D was shocking in 21, 50% wins and a draw and in 22 when his should have come into his own a few wins early season against Wales, Argentine and Somoa followed by six losses in the last seven games. At lease OJ will be happy 😆

13 Go to comments

SK 1 hour ago

Elegant or turbulent? Can Les give the Wallabies the Kiss of Life?

Well Nick you have to wonder what the long term plan is for RA. I cannot think that they would appoint Kiss only to have Schmidt back in 2027 but then it is a world cup year on home soil so perhaps that is the plan. I reckon RA need to target the 2027 world cup as it seems like their best opportunity. 2031 is so far away and who knows what the state of the game in Aus will be like at that point. Also the squad isnt exactly bursting with talent which you could confidently say will be there come 2031 especially when you consider how young players are being hunted by foreign clubs. 2027 must be the target and I just wonder if Kiss is the right man to win it all in 2027. He has not shown enough at Ulster or London Irish to be considered the main man and his Reds side while really good are hardly pragmatic and are prone to some whacky reversals like the one suffered in Fiji. For me Kiss is not the man for 2027 yet he has the top job but he will bring continuity and wont tear up the gameplan so at least they wont be starting from scratch with a new coach. In a way he was just about the only appointment they could make at this stage.