Crusaders ready to start Codecracker — Simon Shuker
SYDNEY: Crusaders coach Scott Robertson said the ninetime Super Rugby champions would pick themselves up, dust themselves down and start all over again after their record winning streak was brought to an end on Saturday night.
The loss to the Waratahs which ended their run at 19 matches was particularly disappointing because they had been hoping for a victory to dedicate to the people of their home city Christchurch after this month’s deadly shootings.
‘‘It was special,’’ Robertson said of the streak. ‘‘We wanted so desperately to keep that going and put on a good show for our people.
‘‘One good thing on reflection is the way we won those games. From behind, from in front, finals footy. It was a great run and now there’s an opportunity to start again.
‘‘We’ve got to do better in a lot of areas. One good thing for us is we’ve got six days until our next game, so we can look forward to the week ahead and really focus on the rugby.’’
The eight days preceding Saturday’s match allowed them to do anything but that, the news of the March 15 attacks on two Christchurch mosques breaking as they were boarding a flight to Dunedin to face the Highlanders.
That match was cancelled and so it was not until Saturday that the Crusaders were finally able to show their public support for the 50 victims, linking arms with the Waratahs and their coach, Daryl Gibson, for a minute’s silence on the pitch.
‘‘It was pretty special. It was great to be beside Gibbo, who was a proud Crusader in his day, and a local boy. I thought it was a nice touch,’’ Robertson said.
‘‘We never got to do it last week and we’ve seen a lot of other teams do it so to be able to show our respects was pretty special for us.’’
Robertson should be able to recall first fiveeighth Richie Mo’unga and lock Scott Barrett to face the Hurricanes in Wellington on Friday after being forced to rest them under the All Blacks’ player management protocol.
‘‘We’ve known for a while now what the structure is and we just try and manage it as best we can,’’ he said of the plan aimed at keeping test players fresh for this year’s World Cup.
‘‘One good thing about it is that it gives other players opportunities and those players are going to be better for the game tonight.
‘‘There’s a lot of Wallabies in that Waratahs team and they seemed to play pretty well against us.’’
In other Super Rugby matches over the weekend, the Hurricanes beat the Stormers 3428, the Lions defeated the Sunwolves 3724, the Chiefs upset the Bulls 5620, the Sharks thrashed the Rebels 6014 and the Reds beat the Brumbies 3614.