All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson and his assistant Jason Ryan masterminded many a Crusaders victory over the Blues in theirprevious roles, but the one they had no part in delivering on Saturday night may have brought them a previously unknown sense of optimism.
That the Crusaders were able to build yet one more victory over their old foe on the strength of the scrum and their ability to hang tough when it mattered most would suggest that history repeated in Christchurch in the standard pattern of the last 20 years.
But the story of the night was more detailed and nuanced than “red machine once again proves to be more robust than blue machine”, and for Robertson and Ryan, there was the almost perfect scenario of key players in both teams delivering precisely what they needed to prove their readiness to enable the All Blacks to play effective test rugby this year.
Blues coach Vern Cotter and his scrum specialist Greg Feek will have been a little shocked to have seen their pack shunted and buckled as easily and readily as they were, but for Robertson and Ryan, it was confirmation that New Zealand currently has an extraordinary array of high-quality props who can deliver an all-court game.
Joe Moody, after a couple of injury-ravaged years has made an irresistible claim for an All Blacks recall, his destruction of Angus Ta’avao providing yet more undeniable evidence that the Crusaders veteran is new Zealand’s best scrummaging loosehead by a country mile.
Codie Taylor has returned from his sabbatical with a renewed energy and composure that has been impossible to miss, while Fletcher Newell on the tighthead is fast-tracking his technical craft to match his enormous power.
There has been an element of angst generated by the ongoing quest by New Zealand Rugby to persuade Richie Mo’unga to quit his Japanese contract and come home, but as important as it is to have an experienced tactical general in the All Blacks No 10 jersey, the whole business of winning test rugby starts with the ability of the pack to thrive in the trenches.
The All Blacks didn’t have the right mix of brutality and mobility between 2020 and August 2022 and they paid a big price for that.
They learned in a seven-game streak against Ireland, France and South Africa from the end of 2021 to the middle of 2022, in which they only won twice, that the modern game requires props to be both set-piece savvy as well as dynamic ball carriers, and tacklers and jacklers.
The old days of being one but not the other have gone, and so Ryan and Robertson’s sense of optimism about the year ahead will have been greatly lifted by seeing the Crusaders front row make their presence felt all over the field, and by the work of Tamaiti Williams who came off the bench to maintain the scrum ascendancy and skittle a few Blues players when he carried.
Codie Taylor on the charge against the Blues. Photo / Photosport
The night before in Wellington they saw Xavier Numia produce arguably the best individual performance of the weekend by showing his full range of explosive skills that ranged from buckling the Chiefs scrum to scoring a 40m solo try.
With Tyrel Lomax, possibly the world’s best tighthead, in great form before he injured himself a few weeks ago, the All Blacks, critically, have the right raw materials to throw together a few front row combinations that will offer a bit of everything.
Just as importantly, the Blues will have deepened Ryan and Robertson’s sense of comfort by producing another impressive display of ball-carrying grunt and cleanout accuracy.
Cotter discovered in Christchurch that he hasn’t quite transformed the Blues into the all-conquering team he wants them to be, but their ability to play a smash and bash game with ball in hand is undeniably good.
Patrick Tuipulotu was outstanding against the Crusaders in the way he carried, won his lineout ball, stayed in the fight and was still running hard in the 80th minute.
Hoskins Sotutu and Akira Ioane didn’t have the impact they wanted, but they were still massively improved compared with the way they wilted in last year’s semifinal against the Crusaders.
Their respective body heights were lower, they worked harder, they carried with more authority and tackled with more shoulder and less arms.
They both looked more like prospective international loose forwards in Christchurch 2024 than they ever did in Christchurch 2023.
And this is why it was such a good weekend for the All Blacks selectors – with Scott Barrett, Dalton Papali’i, Ardie Savea and, in time, Sam Cane, to bring into the mix, the All Blacks have the potential to build the sort of pack they will need to get back to being the world’s best team.
They have forwards now who are each week producing precisely the sort of rugby that is required in the international game.
