Super Rugby Pacific: Crusaders coach Rob Penney surveys damage from disastrous defeat to Blues

Crusaders coach Rob Penney admits his defending Super Rugby Pacific champions are teetering on the edge of an abyss, but insists he is still the right man to lead them to safety.

After winning a Super Rugby crown in each of the past seven years under now-All Blacks maestro Scott Robertson, the Canterbury-based side are off to the worst start of their history, after falling to a fifth straight loss - and their biggest of the season - against the Blues at Eden Park.

The 26-6 drubbing exposed several shortcomings and added to a mounting casualty list, with acting captain David Havili limping off in the second half, with a calf niggle. Fulltime skipper Scott Barrett has already been ruled out for another month with a finger injury.

The Crusaders had dominated their Auckland rivals for a decade, winning 18 of 19 previous meetings and last losing at the self-proclaimed 'National Stadium' in 2014. That supremacy came crashing down this weekend, leaving the visitors in a precarious position that may become irrecoverable. 

"That could easily happen, if they're not well connected, if they group start looking out the window, instead of in the mirror. That's collective, that's all of us.

"It could spiral uncontrollably, but my hope is in the fact the group is well connected and they're proud men. We've got some talent to come back to us after the bye.

"Who knows, if we can secure a position in the top eight, we're in the hunt."

More to come

Crusaders coach Rob Penney admits his defending Super Rugby Pacific champions are teetering on the edge of an abyss, but insists he is still the right man to lead them to safety.

After winning a Super Rugby crown in each of the past seven years under now-All Blacks maestro Scott Robertson, the Canterbury-based side are off to the worst start of their history, after falling to a fifth straight loss - and their biggest of the season - against the Blues at Eden Park.

The 26-6 drubbing exposed several shortcomings and added to a mounting casualty list, with acting captain David Havili limping off in the second half, with a calf niggle. Fulltime skipper Scott Barrett has already been ruled out for another month with a finger injury.

The Crusaders had dominated their Auckland rivals for a decade, winning 18 of 19 previous meetings and last losing at the self-proclaimed 'National Stadium' in 2014. That supremacy came crashing down this weekend, leaving the visitors in a precarious position that may become irrecoverable. 

"That could easily happen, if they're not well connected, if they group start looking out the window, instead of in the mirror. That's collective, that's all of us.

"It could spiral uncontrollably, but my hope is in the fact the group is well connected and they're proud men. We've got some talent to come back to us after the bye.

"Who knows, if we can secure a position in the top eight, we're in the hunt."

More to come

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