(also published on Pink Rugby)
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| Johnny McNicholl being awesome |
If you remember, I recently blogged about the doom and gloom surrounding
the Crusaders outside backs.
In case you don't
remember, here is a brief rundown:
Zac Guildford (who it
is clear I am rather fond of) was out of rugby indefinitely, due to
what the media liked to call 'off field issues' – aka, alcoholism.
Sean Maitland had moved to greener, colder pastures to play for
Glasgow and Scotland. Israel Dagg was suddenly the most senior,
experienced member of the outside backs, with Tom Marshall and Adam
Whitelock adding SOME experience – but no international experience.
Johnny McNicholl was the new kid, the yet-to-be-capped debutant who
had impressed in the 2012 ITM Cup.
THEN, a sigh of relief
was breathed when (two weeks after my initial piece was published),
Zac was reinstated to the Crusaders and FINALLY some of the much
needed experience was back. Furthermore, Tom Marshall had been
putting on some rather impressive displays on the wing and at
fullback, while young Johnny McNicholl was also making his mark on
the game, proving he was more than up to the standard required to
play at Super XV level. It seemed that between Dagg, Guildford,
Marshall and McNicholl, the Crusaders were onto something.
After two losses on the
run, the Crusaders returned to Christchurch and took on the Bulls.
Tom Marshall scored a sublime solo-effort try from halfway, Johnny
McNicholl notched up his first Super XV try, and Israel Dagg gave a
solid performance at fullback. After what had been a dismal,
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| Tom Marshall arguably the in form Crusader of the season |
The following week, Zac
was selected on the bench for the game against the Kings, with Dagg,
Marshall and McNicholl in the starting 15. It was assumed that Zac
would go on with 20-30 minutes left on the clock – a chance to give
him a bit of a hit out, to wean him back into the game gently.
Zac Guildford ran onto
the field in the starting 15 that night – and it wasn't because of
a last minute shuffle either. No. That would have been too easy.
Too straightforward. Instead, Zac Guildford was promoted from bench
to starting 15 because of an injury. A hamstring injury to Israel
Dagg – which is ironic, because a hamstring injury is what kept Zac
out of most of the 2012 ITM Cup.
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| Matt Todd crosses the tryline against the Stormers |
Adam Whitelock moved to
the bench, Tom Marshall went to fullback, Zac reclaimed the #11
jersey, with Johnny moving to the #14 jersey. The team went on to
win – and to win well. Tom Marshall again played exceptionally
well, and the fact that Israel Dagg wasn't on the field didn't seem
like such a huge deal at the end of the day. Besides, Izzy only had
a hamstring strain, and it was confirmed he would be back the
following week, when the Crusaders were to play the Stormers in Cape
Town.
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| A glorious sight to behold.... |
What a relief, the
Crusaders would have their strongest outside back trio for the
Stormers – a game that would undoubtedly be their toughest match of
the season to date.
Guildford was named on
the bench again, with McNicholl, Dagg and Marshall in the 11, 15 and
14 jerseys. McNicholl had proven himself and Guildford would provide
fresh (very experienced) legs off the bench – something that would
be very beneficial in what would undoubtedly be a very physical
encounter against the Stormers. Adam Whitelock was also named on the
bench, as cover for the midfield backs – a good way to ensure all
the outside backs got a bit of game time.
BUT THEN.... (go on,
you were expecting a 'but then', weren't you!!!)
On Friday morning I was
greeted by a tweet on Twitter, casually mentioning that Israel Dagg
had
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| The team were sans Israel Dagg, again |
The Crusaders were
officially lacking someone to sit on the bench in the #22 jersey.
There was no one to fill in as a replacement for the outside backs.
So.... the coaching
team did what any coaching team would do – and put a flanker on the
bench for the outside backs. One would imagine that the coaching
team hoped and prayed they wouldn't need to use him. As long as
there were no injuries, they would be fine.
Naturally, Johnny
McNicholl broke his ankle in the 20th minute of the game.
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| The team catch their breath... for a minute |
A collective “OH
F**K!” could be heard across Crusader-land (well, if it hadn't been
6.30am local time, I'm sure it would have been) as McNicholl was
carted off the field, his season over. The situation for the outside
backs was suddenly looking dire again.
Adam Whitelock took
Johnny's place on the wing and the midfield backs played out the full
80 minutes, so there was no need for history to repeat itself and for
a flanker to be thrown from the scrum to the wing. Yea. That
happened before. In 2011 Matt Todd had to play on the wing due to
injuries amongst the backs. The game was against the Stormers. In
Cape Town. Deja vu anyone?
The Crusaders – sans
Richie McCaw, Kieran Read (injured), Dan Carter (on paternity leave),
Israel
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| So serious, boys! |
The final score was
19-14, with the Crusaders only try coming from Matt Todd – the
remaining 15 points all being kicked by understudy to Dan Carter,
Tyler Bleyendaal. The Crusaders attacking AND defensive efforts were
amazing (in fairness, so were the Stormers), and by recording the
win, they surely sent a message to the other Super XV franchises. A
very scary message at that.
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| Jubilation after an amazing effort by the boys in Red and Black. Well. White and Red. |
BUT (remember, there is
always a but!) ther Crusaders are again in a very precarious position
with regard to their outside backs. Telusa Veainu has been called in
as back up for McNicholl – but he is it for the remainder of the
competition. Another Crusaders outside back being injured would be a
major problem for the franchise, and hopefully a problem that doesn't
eventuate.
On a personal level, I
am hugely upset by the injury to Johnny. I became excited by him in
the 2012 ITM Cup and just knew he'd get a Super XV contract – which
he did. I've loved watching his progress and seeing him impress in
his first year with the Crusaders. My plan had been to do a Kiwi
Focus piece on Johnny later on in the season, when he was the player
everyone was talking about – but obviously that won't be happening
now...
