Rugby | Vodacom Super Rugby Kick-off: 11.40 SA time - Saturday Crusaders can force another Waratahs choke by Gavin Rich 01 August 2014, 07:19 Not even disappointed Cell C Sharks fans would disagree that Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby decider at Sydney’s Olympic stadium between the Waratahs against the Crusaders is the dream final between the best two teams in the competition. What is less easy to find agreement on is the question of who will win, a mystery which is added to by these two teams not having faced each other during the regular season. The uncertainty and unpredictability of this match-up between teams in red-hot form and loaded with world class players and game-breakers is what makes this contest such an appetizing prospect and one not to be missed for neutrals. That and what is riding on it for the protagonists, for there is heaps of pressure on both. The Waratahs have never won the competition and they have a bit of a reputation for being chokers. Will they live up to that tag once more in what most see as their best opportunity? A few weeks ago they seemed dead certainties to win, but that was before the Crusaders’ started flexing their muscles. There is a lot on this game for both teams. The Crusaders are still recognised as a champion team because of their multiple successes in Super Rugby, but a glance at the record books will disclose that they haven’t won it since 2008. That is a gap of six years, a long time for a franchise that in the middle part of last decade had got to the point where there was an expectation to win it rather than just a hope. It is why, even now after making the final, there is much pressure heaped on their coach, Todd Blackadder. Both teams had their difficult moments early in the competition. The Crusaders started out with a home defeat to the Chiefs, and were off the pace after they lost to a Sharks team reduced to 14 men for much of the match back in May. With the exception of a narrow defeat to the Hurricanes immediately after the June break, however, they have picked up strong momentum. Much of the reason for that improved form is based on the personnel on their team sheet. Skipper Kieran Read was absent while he battled a concussion issue when the Crusaders were struggling, and Dan Carter, the finest flyhalf in the world, was away on sabbatical until June. Carter is back now, albeit at centre rather than pivot, and although he hasn’t always been that accurate with his place-kicking, his long field kicking game and decision making has been key to the Crusaders’ recent successes. Carter has combined well with Colin Slade in the Crusaders’ key flyhalf/inside centre decision making axis, and the Crusaders backs have certainly been more potent since his return. And they will need to be again against the Waratahs, who have game-breaker Kurtley Beale at No 12 and the inform Adam Ashley-Cooper alongside him. The most dangerous Waratahs player though is fullback Israel Folau, as from an attacking viewpoint is his opposite number Israel Dagg, who punished the Sharks’ poor tactical kicking game last week. The two players with the same first names are probably the best two fullbacks in the world right now, though Willie le Roux supporters might argue the point. It is at forward though that finals are won and lost, and after a semifinal round where the Waratahs did battle slightly against the Brumbies, it is here that the Crusaders might have the slightest of edges. Their lineouts were efficient against the Sharks while the scrum got progressively stronger against a powerful Sharks unit. It was at the breakdown though that the Crusaders were particularly good, and the combination of Matt Todd and All Black captain Richie McCaw in the unfamiliar position of blindside flank worked well. It is having Read back that makes all the difference for the Crusaders, and with three former winners of the IRB World Player of the Year award all in the same team, the visitors have enough specialness to their team to break the long sequence of Waratahs home wins. If they do get home it shouldn’t be by much though for apart from the Waratahs being a strong team, there is also the probability that, as they usually do, the 50/50 calls in a final will go the way of the hosts. So this isn’t a game that you should bet your house on. That’s what makes it so interesting. TEAMS Waratahs: Israel Folau, Olofa Alofa, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Kurtley Beale, Rob Horne, Bernard Foley, Nick Phipps, Wycliff Palu, Michael Hooper (captain), Stephen Hoiles, Kane Douglas, Jacques Potgieter, Sekope Kepu, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Benn Robinson. Replacements: Tola Latu, Jeremy Tilse, Paddy Ryan, Will Skelton, Mitchell Chapman, Patrick McCrutcheon, Brendan McKibbin, Teqele Naiyaravoro. Crusaders: Israel Dagg, Kieron Fonotia, Ryan Crotty, Dan Carter, Nemani Nadolo, Colin Slade, Andy Ellis, Kieran Read (captain), Matt Todd, Richie McCaw, Sam Whitelock, Dominic Bird, Owen Franks, Corey Flynn, Wyatt Crockett. Replacements: Ben Funnell, Joe Moody, Nepo Laulala, Jimmy Tupou, Jordan Taufua, Willie Heinz, Tom Taylor, Johnny McNicholl. Referee: Craig Joubert Kick-off: 11.40 SA time Prediction: Crusaders to edge it.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 05:52:29 +0000
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