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Intercept was vital

Both Crusaders head coach Todd Blackadder and Blues counterpart Pat Lam pointed to Ryan Crotty's 56th minute try as the pivotal moment in the Crusaders' 33-20 win in their fourth round Super 14 match at AMI Stadium, Christchurch, on Saturday night.

Monday, 08 March 2010

Sportal.co.nz

Both Crusaders head coach Todd Blackadder and Blues counterpart Pat Lam pointed to Ryan Crotty's 56th minute try as the pivotal moment in the Crusaders' 33-20 win in their fourth round Super 14 match at AMI Stadium, Christchurch, on Saturday night.

With the Crusaders hanging on to their one-point halftime lead (16-15), the ball was kicked towards the touchline near the Blues 22m.

Wing Rudi Wulf could have opted for the safety of touch but he turned infield and threw a long looped pass which was pounced upon by Crusaders second five-eighth Crotty who had a free run to score under the cross-bar.

With Dan Carter adding the conversion - he had a 100 percent record with seven goal kicks - the Crusaders were out to a 23-15 lead and centre Robbie Fruean's try 10 minutes ensured the Crusaders kept their unbeaten home record.

"That intercept try came at a pivotal moment," Blackadder said.

"I thought that what we did that led to it also contributed - we built pressure, held the ball, then chased the kick hard and the opportunity came. We were all pretty delighted at that intercept."

Lam said the try came when the match was finely balanced.

"That try was a big turning point for us. It made it really hard for us as after that we were chasing the game.

"The boys were confident at half-time, but some of our kicking in the second half was reckless and put us under pressure. In the end they [Crusaders] maintained field possession and when you're playing catch-up rugby against a team like the Crusaders it's always difficult."

Crotty, speaking about his match-turning try, said he saw the 'lollipop' pass coming early.

"It was between both of the guys I was running towards and so I just decided to go for gold. You can look like a fool if you run straight past it but the ball landed right in the cradle."

Blackadder was more relieved than elated at the result which has the Crusaders in the table's top four.

"The Blues played really well and I thought that we were lucky to be up in the first half. We were really tested, but I was pleased with the way our guys kept their composure under pressure and slowly played their way back into the game.

"What we saw tonight was a very good (Blues) 'D' side - they targeted our breakdown really well where they over-committed and we struggled to get our ball. Tactically they pinned us with a lot of up-and-unders and we made a lot of errors from them. It was a game where two good teams forced a lot of mistakes on each other."

Lam said the bye next round could not have come at a better time as he was struggling to field a backline.

Second five-eighth Benson Stanley retired injured in the opening stanza and fullback Paul Williams and first five-eighths Stephen Brett (both head knocks) and wing Joe Rokocoko (knee) also succumbed to injury in the second half.

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