Rugby: Brisbane final is too close to call, says Lam

Ali Williams of the Blues passes the ball during the Super Rugby Semi Final match between the Reds and the Blues. Photo / Getty Images

Too tough to call is Blues coach Pat Lam's take on the Super 15 rugby final on Saturday night.

Minor premiers the Queensland Reds will host the nomadic Crusaders in Brisbane and Lam has seen both teams up close over the past month.

The Blues lost to the Crusaders 23-16 in Timaru in the penultimate round of the regular season, the result effectively deciding top spot in the New Zealand conference.

They were then eliminated by the Reds in a 30-13 semifinal defeat last weekend.

For Lam, the Queenslanders would have the key advantage of being at home - where they have lost just once this season - but the Crusaders had shown a consistent ability this year to master adversity.

"It's really hard, I just think it's going to be a close game," he said yesterday.

"Everything is geared towards the Reds, with no travel and so forth, but the Crusaders are overcoming all the challenges. If the Crusaders came back and won it, it wouldn't be a surprise."

One big hurdle facing the Crusaders is accumulated jet lag.

They had to travel from New Zealand to Cape Town for their semifinal against the Stormers, and then turn around and head to Brisbane.

"That is a real difficult ask."

But in a campaign where the earthquake damage to Christchurch has meant their home ground has been off limits, the Crusaders had shown their mental toughness in coping with the amount of time they had been on the road, Lam said.

The final's feature head-to-head clash will be at first five-eighth, where Quade Cooper, man of the match against the Blues, will be up against All Black Dan Carter. Lam said the key to combating Cooper was not to allow him front-foot ball.

"We did that at times, but then you fall off a tackle on him and he can get out and do his magic," he said.

"He can make things out of nothing. He's quality. It's about making your tackles on him and the Crusaders are good at that."

One area where Lam saw the Crusaders as having decided superiority was in the set pieces.

"Our scrum was very good against them and our lineout held out and that is where the Crusaders will definitely have an advantage."

- NZPA