Crusaders coach Scott Robertson appears to have copped the Super Rugby champions’ latest red card and says they must improve in every area after a shock defeat in Sydney.
Replacement lock Hamish Dalzell was sent off for a high shot on Wallabies captain Michael Hooper in Saturday night’s 24-21 loss to the Waratahs.
Dalzell – who briefly locked the scrum with cousin Sam Whitelock – is almost certain to be banned this week.
That will further deplete the Crusaders’ second row stocks after injuries to Mitchell Dunshea, Quinten Strange and Zach Gallagher and with skipper Scott Barrett still serving a four-game ban for a late high hit against the Blues.
Dalzell’s 67th minute red card was instantly followed by the sinbinning of flanker Pablo Matera for illegally sacking a maul, leaving the Crusaders down to 13 men on a night where Waratahs flanker Charlie Gamble was the best-performed Cantabrian at Leichhardt Oval.
Robertson wasn’t looking to blame anyone else for the Crusaders’ struggles, certainly not the match officials.
Asked at the post-match press conference if he felt the red card was justified, Robertson said it was “difficult to judge’’ high tackles and there was sometimes “no clear line’’.
But he did concede: “Dalzy’s tackle technique needs to get better, I know that. He’s a big man [2.01m] but he could have done better around it.
“It’s a bit disappointing for Hoops to take that head knock. There was no malice in it, but it was definitely technically poor.’’
Hooper had to leave the field for a HIA, a big blow for the Waratahs after he and Gamble had bossed the Crusaders at the breakdown.
Gamble snaffled a game-saving turnover near fulltime to preserve the win and, in some ways, prove a point.
A North Canterbury product who played for St Bede’s College’s First XV, Gamble left for Sydney after a spell in the Crusaders’ academy and after failing to gain a place in Robertson’s New Zealand under-20 team following a poor trial.
“It’s a nice touch for him and his family. Sometimes when people find a new place, they get a new opportunity, and that’s probably what he needed, a chance to get away and start afresh.’’
The Waratahs stung the Crusaders from the outset, with fans still streaming through the gates when outstanding wing Dylan Pietsch scored their first try in the second minute.
Mark Nawaqanitawase doubled their lead 10 minutes later with another try off a neat Izaia Perese offload.
“We were on the back foot straight away, fourteen points down under a lot of pressure,” Robertson said.
Captain Codie Taylor concurred, saying the Waratahs coped better in the dewy conditions, “controlled the ruck’’ and took their opportunities.
“They obviously wanted it.’’
It’s a rare game where the Crusaders fail to score a single point in the first half, but they found themselves 17-0 down at the break.
They fought back with a penalty try after Waratahs backrower Rahboni Warren-Vosayaco was sinbinned for offside play at a ruck on his own line.
Replacement flanker Sione Havili Talitui put the Crusaders within striking distance at 17-14 in the 60th minute after some concerted attacks.
But the Waratahs pulled further ahead through a penalty try when Matera was marched for his maul malfeasance a minute after Dalzell’s red card.
Substitute prop Fletcher Newell – who must be close to a start – crashed over in the 74th minute to give the Crusaders a glimmer, but some mighty maul work by Jed Holloway and Gamble’s key steal sent the Sydneysiders home celebrating.
Asked what went wrong, Robertson said: “We’re looking for the answers ourselves, to be fair’’.
He felt the Crusaders had had a good week of training after a scratchy 42-17 win over the Rebels in Melbourne, but “a lot of simple stuff we pride ourselves on, we didn’t get right’’ and the Waratahs “got a lot of momentum’’.
“In the last 20, we got plenty of opportunities and still didn’t finish.”
The Crusaders are still third but have yet to convince across the Tasman and Robertson said they would be “looking at everything’’ to rediscover their mojo ahead of Saturday’s game against the Western Force in Perth.
”It’s all there, we’ve just got to complete some stuff.’’
