The Crusade has come to an end but it wasn’t due to a lack of commitment or preparation. The Bulls played better on the day and deserved their victory but I’m proud of our guys.

To get into the top four and give ourselves an opportunity to defend our title was a great effort after winning only one game in the first five matches of the season.

But even though we were losing games narrowly (against the Brumbies, Hurricanes and Highlanders, and drawing in the case of the Force), we knew we were on the right track and a win would come.

The whole group stayed together and we kept faith in each other and turned the season around with that fantastic victory over the Waratahs in Sydney.

More wins came against the Stormers and Bulls at home before we had a break over Easter and travelled to South Africa. We defeated the Sharks in Durban, had a slip up against the Cheetahs (but still got a valuable bonus point thanks to Leon MacDonald’s penalty after the fulltime hooter) and bounced back to beat the Lions in Johannesburg.

The good win over the Reds and narrow victory over the Blues in Auckland were enough to get us into the semi-finals.

We prepared well for the match against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, staying away from all the hype at our base in Johannesburg.

This carried into the match as we had a great start, scoring two tries through Adam Whitelock on the left wing and Kieran Read’s chase of the high ball under the posts (a planned move by the way).

A couple of errors crept in and the Bulls capitalised very quickly. They are a top team with firepower all over the field and you have to keep the pressure on all game. We couldn’t quite manage to do that but the players will have learned an enormous amount from the game.

We have been pleased with how many players developed through the competition. They will be a lot better for it.

The new coaching trio in Mark, Daryl and I have also learned a lot through this season and are already looking forward to a new crusade in 2010.

Thanks a lot for all your support over the season. For those who watched us at AMI Stadium or travelled to see us play away, a special thanks to you. The players really appreciate you being there.

Cheers,

Todd Blackadder
Crusaders Head Coach