Crotty stresses ‘belief’ ahead of crunch match against the Drua in Fiji

Back with the team after four years in Japan, the fifth-most capped Crusader in franchise history, Ryan Crotty isn’t panicked after back-to-back losses to the Chiefs and Waratahs to start the season.

Frustrated? Sure.

But panicked? No, that’s not going to help anyone ahead of Saturday afternoon’s clash with the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua in steamy Lautoka, where the Crusaders suffered a shock one-point defeat in round three a year ago.

stuff.co reports that there has been no shortage of players shouldering responsibility since the reigning champions returned home to debrief their 37-24 defeat in Melbourne last week, which makes Crotty confident the banged up and somewhat new-look team makes some serious shifts this week.

Crotty says he guesses when you are making errors, you don’t have the ability to apply pressure...that’s the gist of it.

He also knows the Lautoka conditions make ball-handling tricky.

Crotty says errors sure have been the primary root behind the Crusaders’ early-season wobbles, particularly inside their own half.

After gifting the Chiefs two of their three tries in round one, the Waratahs scored directly from a charged-down David Havili kick, and a loose ball at a ruck.

Other mistakes which led to points or pressure included a Noah Hotham knock-on at the base of a ruck, Taha Kemara spilling a sluggish Havili pass, and the Crusaders inexplicably not burning a bunch more seconds before kicking the ball out on the cusp of halftime.

Rather than trailing 16-10 at the break, they jogged to the sheds down 23-10 after the Tahs executed a smooth set piece move.

Ryan Crotty has been in this boat before.

And, believe it or not, he’s far from the only one that knows how it feels to start a season with two straight losses when you look around the Crusaders’ Rugby Park headquarters.

Mitchell Drummond was there in 2014, the last time it happened. So was Owen Franks, Joe Moody and Willi Heinz. And don’t forget new assistant coach Matt Todd, who was in his fourth season as a player.

Before the team trained yesterday, Crotty said belief is never a question for this group,

He says they knuckle down and work hard and good things always happen.

While the Crusaders opted to sit key players against the Drua this time last year, don’t expect big changes as the red and blacks attempt to avoid their first 0-3 start since 1996.

That includes another likely start for 20-year-old pivot Kemara, who hasn’t had the type of clean, fast front-foot ball any playmaker craves.

The same was the case during the New Zealand under-20s’ brutal World Cup campaign last year, meaning the highly touted Kemara has not been able to display his game at a time he’s trying to find his feet at this level. The Fijian Drua will take on the Crusaders at 1.05pm this Saturday at Churchill Park, Lautoka. The ticket prices for this match are $20 flat for adults and children from the ages of 2 to 12 years old in the North grass, and $35 for adults and $20 for children from the ages of 2 to 12 years old in the East grass.

In the Waitui stands, $50 for adults and $25 for children from the ages of 2 to 12 years old.

The prices for Timber Stand 2 are $70 for adults and $35 for children from the ages of 2 to 12 years old and Timber Stand 1, is $95 for adults and $50 for children from the ages of 2 to 12 years old.

For the silver Southwest stand, $100 for adults and $50 for children from the ages of 2 to 12 years old.

The gold southwest stand and platinum stand will be $150 flat.

In other matches this weekend, Moana Pasifika will take on the Rebels at 6.05pm Friday, the Waratahs will play the Highlanders at 8.35pm Friday, the Brumbies will host the Western Force at 3.35pm Saturday, the Hurricanes will play the Blues at 6.05pm Saturday and the Reds will take on the Chiefs at 8.35pm Saturday.

Source : stuff.co