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How the Crusaders will stay 'sharp' ahead of Highlanders battle

3 years ago

Following an impressive return to glory in their away-win against the Chiefs last weekend, the Crusaders are remaining sharp and focused as they prepare to take on the Highlanders.

While the Highlanders have been middling at best throughout Super Rugby Pacific, Crusaders Forwards Coach Jason Ryan has emphasised that his side will not take the Southern-side lightly in their Friday night clash.

The last time the two sides faced in Christchurch, the Highlanders used their ‘underdog’ status to their advantage and annihilated the championship winners, leaving Ryan and the Crusaders wary of their ability to turn a game on its head.

Both sides have released their 23-man squads for Friday night’s match, and Ryan believes the Highlanders team will have plenty of fire power for his Crusaders side to contain.

“I think Andrew Makalio will add a lot to their scrum, I really do. He’s a powerful scrummager, and I think it’s a pretty good mix that they’ve gone (with),” he said on SENZ Mornings.

“Interesting that they’ve probably picked a stronger bench, but we’re honestly reading nothing into their results at all.

“Last year we played them up here and they'd had a few off-field dramas to deal with, and then they came up here absolutely resilient, and to be honest they cleaned us up.

“It was the biggest score we’d lost to in seven years, so there’s a bit of hurt still there from that game, but they’re a well-drilled team.

“Any team with Aaron Smith in it can do anything on the day, so we’ve prepared with a lot of respect and accordingly, to put on a good performance tomorrow.”

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While the Crusaders appear to have found their mojo again after dominating a powerful Chiefs side last weekend, Ryan believes the key to facing a struggling team is mental preparation.

“We addressed it Monday morning really sharply. Straight after our Chiefs review, Razor (Scott Robertson) set a real scene for the group and that was probably just what we needed,” he said.

“(He) put it right on the coaches, put it right on the players, so there’s no hiding. It doesn’t happen often, but I think it was necessary.

“We know that it’s a big job at hand, so we’ve just got to keep the boys sharp during the week. Making sure that we just keep our meetings sharp and fresh so we’re not always talking about the same things.

“Get different people presenting, and all of those sorts of things help to set your week up.”

Ryan will hope that his side can carry some momentum through from Round 7 in their Friday night clash in front of a home crowd at Orangetheory Stadium, to ensure they remain at the top of the NZ conference.

The match is scheduled to start at 7:05pm NZT.

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