Richard Loe: Crusaders still not fluent

Sam Whitelock of the Crusaders. Photo / Getty Images

Opinion

The warning bells are really starting to sound now regarding the Crusaders and the question is really starting to demand an answer: when will they hit their straps?

Their match and form against the Rebels was ordinary, especially against a side like the Rebels whose game plan appeared to be simply to hang in there; they looked like they thought they might have a go if things got close but it was really all about damage limitation.

Even with that, the Crusaders again did not look impressive.

There were tit-for-tat tries and a few penalties and that was it.

I see a lot in the media are blaming the problems on the selection of the third first-five in three weeks but I don't really think that's it.

They wanted Tom Taylor in there and Israel Dagg in there and so they should; they are key players.

No, for my money, other teams, coaches and defensive systems have worked the Crusaders out. Everyone is saying they don't have the explosive players to turn a match but I think it's more than that too.

They are doing the basics okay and I think their intensity is okay (but only okay) although, against a weaker team like the Rebels, and with as much ball as they had, they should be doing better.

The problem is that I think other teams have worked them out and the Crusaders have yet to counter that. New Zealand does not have a monopoly on good coaches and innovative thinking nor on good players.

The Rebels had Tamati Ellison, a former All Black, and players like Scott Higginbotham, one of the better loose forwards around.

But the Rebels and teams like them have done their research - and they are defending against the Crusaders by making them move across field. That's the biggest thing for me - the Crusaders have not been able to change that trend. They have been renowned for the patient build-up, recycling the ball, the ball-carriers putting phases together to pull defences out of shape and end up with a back against a tight forward.

But now the Crusaders, right from the first receiver, seem to have forgotten that the first part of that successful recipe was to run direct and straight at the defence; they need to keep running those lines, protecting the ball and recycling it. They are not helped, maybe, by the fact that wingers like Johnny McNicholl and Nafi Tuitavake are not the sort of experienced players, for example, who can take the game by the scruff of the neck when they take the initiative running the ball up. They are more go-with-the-flow players.

So the Crusaders are being forced wider when they have the ball and they are running with it wider and passing as they run wider - and that makes it easier for the defence. They are being forced into running the wrong lines - and the Crusaders have for so long been a team that runs the right lines. They are not dragging the defenders across, they are being pushed across themselves.

It's a hard thing to correct but I believe they have to focus on running straight and being patient; pick-and-go is fine close to the ruck, but only as long as they are done quickly and the defence isn't waiting for it. They need a bit of variety and for a couple of people to hit form to lead the way.

Teams can come back from this kind of situation; often it just needs an individual or individuals to ignite them. Look what their first five, Marnitz Boshoff, has done for the Lions - supposedly one of the weakest sides in the competition. He has kicked the goals, he can also thump over some huge drop goals and he has got them going forward and the pack has responded.

That could still come for the Crusaders and then we may see them in a different light - but it needs to come soon or they will struggle against some of the better sides.

They have the Canes, the Lions, the Cheetahs and the Chiefs coming up after their bye next week - and those games could decide their season.