Crusaders' self-belief plumps their chances of making playoffs

The Crusaders may see it differently, but they only have themselves to blame for coming cap in hand to the rugby gods for a season salvation. Photo / Getty Images

You don't expect the Crusaders to be standing in line for miracles but, as Super Rugby heads into its penultimate round, that's exactly where they find themselves.

What a sad and lonely place that is too, kind of like Dargaville, but with hope. In fairness, the Lions are there too, just ahead of the Crusaders but no less anxious for divine intervention, and the Bulls are there as well, a little farther back and, given their appalling points differential, probably not overly confident they'll reach the head of the queue.

The Crusaders may see it differently, but they only have themselves to blame for coming cap in hand to the rugby gods for a season salvation. This is a team that has put 50 points on three different opponents this year, yet has still found a way to have all the quality consistency of a batch of organic carrots. Still, I feel for them a little.

This is a team whose only crime has been to use the full width of the rugby field, as often as it could, and there once was a time when this sort of approach was lauded, rather than condemned. The sad reality for the Crusaders is, like a Scooby Doo villain, they're probably left wondering how they didn't get away with it.

It is obvious that the team should have done better on the ladder - they have the most points per game, the most tries per game, and the most conversions. They make the most clean breaks, they give the ball the most air time, they win more turnovers than any other team and they steal the most lineout ball.

If only they could have made all that count more often!

But, hey, wins win championships, not statistics, and certainly not mistakes. And the Crusaders have made plenty of those. But here's the thing: they're still in this. Of all the teams on the playoff bubble, they're the one you look at and think, you wouldn't put it past them. They're like that, this team, they're the Smurf song of Super Rugby; you never quite can get them out of your head.

Of course, this is a side that has always had a firm grip on its own destiny, so having to rely on others for clemency or the noose puts them in an unfamiliar position. This is not a team that expects favours from the field, nor takes too kindly to an execution order.

What they can control is their match against the Blues this Saturday night - a match from which they must take the full five points.

Fate has already dealt them a decent opening hand in this respect: the Blues have a full 15 players unavailable through injury or under-20 selection. At this rate the Government will be selling social bonds on Sir John's emotional condition.

Yes, they can put the old foe to the sword at Eden Park but they cannot control what the Brumbies, their ancient nemesis, and the Chiefs, their most recent tormentors, do. Should both win with bonus points then the Crusade will officially close. Should either lose, or should the Brumbies fail to register a bonus point, then everything will come down to a showdown in Canberra.

I have witnessed miracles before: my children dressing themselves, someone marrying me, the self-deluding popularity of kale as a snack food, but those miracles are major. The Crusaders somehow managing to nab a playoff spot from the brink of oblivion wouldn't rate a mention in the beatification bulletin. It just wouldn't surprise me.

And it probably wouldn't surprise them either.

They showed last week that they're not quite done with yet and who wouldn't want to see Nemani Nadolo running over people in the playoffs, or Dan Carter (again) proving the doubters wrong, or Wyatt Crockett getting through a game without giving away a penalty ... okay, let's not get silly.

The point is, there are plenty of fans who gave up on this Crusaders side, but they still haven't given up on themselves.