The sound of Brendon Pickerill’s whistle was still ringing in the ears of the Crusaders at the team’s Rugby Park headquarters on Wednesday.
So it is no surprise their lack of discipline against the Hurricanes last weekend has been a focal point as they prepare to host the Chiefs in Christchurch on Sunday afternoon.
Conceding 15 penalties, most of them in the first half, didn’t stop the red and blacks nabbing a 39-25 bonus point win, but it certainly kept the hosts in the contest.
Indeed, the Hurricanes were outscored five tries to one, yet the game was locked at 25-25 with a quarter of an hour to play.
Not good enough. That’s been the message from the Crusaders coaching staff as they prepare to put their 34-match unbeaten run at home on the line.
‘We understand there will be penalties in the game, but it’s those ones where you are in full control of your own destiny that we can really eradicate,” assistant coach Mark Jones said.
‘There was a few offsides, back foot, they are penalties that we remedied in the second half because we took an extra half a metre at the back of the ruck, which is pretty simple to remedy.”
With officials instructed by NZ Rugby to crack down on breakdown infringements, among other areas, in a bid to encourage open rugby, penalty counts have been sky-high the opening two rounds of the competition.
