March 14, 2026 • 10 mins
The Crusaders will be celebrating after a 29-18 Super Rugby win over the Highlanders in Christchurch.
The defending champions have mixed two wins with three losses to start the 2026 season.
Crusaders assistant coach Dan Perrin joined D'Arcy to discuss.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from newstalksb oh Mine.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
What a game of rugby union last night we had
Super Rugby Pacific. The Hynders basically pulled the pants down
on the Crusaders at round one. Went down like a
cup of cold second read a black Land. So they
tuned around and attempted to do something about it. The
boss go behind at the butt, the nick guess flex
(00:34):
out of the back. Let's got for Orton and it
is rolling in a touch and then'll be at folks.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
The Crusaders.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
They even's here defeating round one against the Highlanders here
an Apollo Project studium quite twenty nine points to eighteen.
There was a bit clunky, and when you spend the
thirty minutes of your game with only fourteen players on
the park, you alsoy that was quite lucky that result.
We go now to the coaching staff of the Crusaders.
(01:03):
Assistant coach Dan Perrin joins the program now, so Dan,
after that you'd be feeling pretty relieved.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Yeah, morning dark, Yeah, and am very really very heavy
for the boys. Were a little bit of hurt in
there from round one and the last time we were
at home the Brumbies tortous a lesson, So we've sort
of delved into that throughout the week, sort of a
bit of internal motivation there for us. So for the
boys to go out there and you know, it wasn't pretty,
(01:32):
it wasn't clean. Playing with fourteen players for thirty minutes
probably didn't help the cause either, But ye're just really
proud of some of the effort that they put in,
the care they showed to you protect your home.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Imagine what you could do if you actually had a
full compliment for the full eighty minute.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Oh mate, it's been the story of this season. I
think we've had that might be five yellow cards in
total now already, So yeah, it's anywha of the game
we need to need to tidy up. I think four
of those have been been high shots as well. So yeah,
I think between the coaching crew and Matt Todd that
there might be a little bit of tackle technique craft
(02:13):
technic this week. But yeah, like you said, if we
can keep fifteen on the field, and it's definitely going
to help our rhythm and yet piece in particular as
well because of a few of them moving forwards.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Yeah, we can tell players till you blue in the face,
don't do it. What does it take for them to
actually take that advice to click that over? That's got
to come from an internal thought process or is it
just wrote learning repeating how do you go about doing
this and saying no, Yeah, we.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Spend a lot of time on tackle technique, and you know,
we walk it, we talk it, we run it, we
do it live like the boys do for hours and
hours into their craft. And I guess what we've got
to understand is a pretty dynamic game and things can
pictures can change and split second and you know, I
look back to Don Gardner's in the earlier rounds, I
(03:04):
look at Shae Fijackey's on the weekend, say, Boris was
one that you know you could have, you know, mitigated.
That was a bit of decision there. But yeah, a
lot of it's happening and split seconds, So just lowering
our body hide in general around the field, I think,
and making sure we target beneath the balls. That second
(03:25):
shoulders tackler is something we work on a lot. So
but yeah, our reactions, split second decision making that we
need to be better there because yeah, it's gonna it's
going to cost us dearly at some point.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
So tell us about the condition of your players, Who's
come through, who hasn't, What kind of state are the
boys in? And we're looking forward, of course to mine
I pussyfigure, isn't it next week?
Speaker 3 (03:49):
A lot better off than we were this time last week?
So the injury reports just come in. There's three or
four on there. They've all got green dots beside their name,
which is good. So I think, yeah, you're winning. Definitely helps.
But we've had some boys that have put I had
to play tough on the weekend. Share some of our
second rowers. We were getting pretty light there with Jamie
(04:10):
Henna and Liam jack Out, so really proud of Antonio
Shelfon and Taylor Cayhill. Taylor Kay actually played with a
broken bone in his chest, so yeah, he played played
for pretty tough and into great performance. And Antonio and
wil Tucker as well, both runder injury clouds throughout the week.
(04:33):
So they've will come through with flying colors, and yeah,
we'll assess a couple. Yeah, hopefully drew back this week
as well. So get stocks are on the rise a
little bit from the injury front, and I think after Malana.
We've got the bye week and it's going to come
at a pretty easy time for us.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
You are former Michael player, so you'd be looking to
the Tasman players that are out there smiling from ear
to ear and then contribution to the Crusaders over many
years has been gold. Looks like you found another one.
He's a Christ's kidd, he's from Rice, has moved up
to sunny Land. Tell us a wee bit more about
(05:11):
what they're calling him, Ethan Blackader Part two.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Yeah, it's a dead ringer for Ethan actually, and yeah,
we've been tracking Johnny for a week while right through
you know, those days at Christ College, and yeah, I
think he made the move. You know, there were quite
a few flankers around in Canterbury with Corey Kellow and
Tom Christie at the time, so you know he's seeing
(05:38):
an opportunity to get up there and Kasman just to
get game time at MPC in a bit more exposure
at a high level. And you know his work at
the New Zealand and the Twenties and World couple couple
of years ago was I think he started and almost
played every minute of every game on that. So he's
got a massive engine. He's a big body, has some
athlete and character. He has a dead set ring of
(06:00):
for Ethan Blackead. It just loves the grind, loves the unseen.
If it's his work, think not just you know in
the game, but you know in the gym, on the computers.
Extremely diligent and yeah, just a great human that you know,
wants to be better and wants to make the people
around him better. So we've got a lot of time
(06:21):
for Johnny. He's got a massive future and yeah, we're
just really proud of, you know, his effort throughout the
week to set himself up and get a crack at
the big time. He'd been playing extremely well for our
development fifteen, probably the player of the game and all
four of those fixtures, so he deserves the opportunity, and
we really wrap from Johnny.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Lee looks something else. It looks like a Hessian bag
full of elbows, shoulders and knees too. I wouldn't want
to tackle that.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Yeah, we stay away from him when we're holding hit shields.
That's for shotting Matt Todd as laid claim that he's
probably the hardest hit and Toddy still wants to hold
the hit shields, just to get a feel for these
guys tackling, and Johnny's right up there when he hits
those things.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
That was positive, plainly, the cards were a negative. What
else do you look toward after that game and go, hey,
you know what that actually settling really well after what's
been a pretty tumultuous season.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Yeah, just just just a rhythm. You know, we're our
own with the enemy in the first four rounds. You know,
even looking at that Chiefs game, we got away with
a couple there after a poor start, so we've just
been focusing on ourselves and you know, our era rate
was far too high, and those early parts of Super Rugby,
(07:41):
you know that it was better on the weekend. There's
still some areas that are handling and decision making that
we need to tidy up. But for the most part, yeah,
decision making obviously, discipline would have been okay. I think
thirteen penalties three yellow cards is as an area we
really have to tidy up, as we spoke about before,
and you know, an area that you know I'm in
(08:03):
charge of around the line out. I think it was
the best lineup performance of the of the season so
far as well, so there'd been a few honest conversations
throughout the week and yeah, really stoked for the boys
and how the line out operated. It yet ten out
of ten on the weekend, So a couple of areas
to tidy up in a couple of areas here that
we're really proud of.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Yeah, I dare I say, you really couldn't go much
further back with the line out, now, could you? Sorry?
Speaker 3 (08:26):
But it wasn't looking great and no, well we were
actually we won ninety four percent of the ball against
the Blues. But you've got to look at the whole
picture and the quality of ball that we were delivering.
And one line out got pushed out over the sideline,
which just isn't good enough. And then three deliveries to
our half back, whether the half back had overrun it
(08:47):
or our delivery from the top of the line out
wasn't wasn't great. So you know, it's winning the balls
one thing, but delivering top quality ball and or applying
pressure through your mall, you know, is the big picture.
So you have some really honest conversations on Monday morning
with the whole forward pack around know our diligence to
(09:07):
the line at the work we're putting in and it
wasn't one specific area, it was everything across the board,
so it was it was great to see the players
respond the way they did this weekend, and you know,
the trajectories are on the way up, I believe, so yeah,
I'm really proud of it.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Dan Parent, thanks so much for your time as always,
wishing you the best of best weeks. Get Gus stuck
in and maybe keep the locks and the props separated.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
Bring it back again and work for us during the week.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
I give us more of it, okay, Dan, we will see.
I just make sure I won't film it and report
back to it. Dan peer On, the assistant coach of
the Crusaders, I suggested Bullian because they managed to pick
up a win. We've been pretty awful going into the
sixth round with only one win, but as it happens
(09:57):
here two and three, so working out okay for the
Crusaders for the Red and Black.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason and Fine, listen
live to news Talks at b weekends from midday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from newstalksb oh Mine.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
What a game of rugby union last night we had
Super Rugby Pacific. The Hynders basically pulled the pants down
on the Crusaders at round one. Went down like a
cup of cold second read a black Land. So they
tuned around and attempted to do something about it. The
boss go behind at the butt, the nick guess flex
(00:34):
out of the back. Let's got for Orton and it
is rolling in a touch and then'll be at folks.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
The Crusaders.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
They even's here defeating round one against the Highlanders here
an Apollo Project studium quite twenty nine points to eighteen.
There was a bit clunky, and when you spend the
thirty minutes of your game with only fourteen players on
the park, you alsoy that was quite lucky that result.
We go now to the coaching staff of the Crusaders.
(01:03):
Assistant coach Dan Perrin joins the program now, so Dan,
after that you'd be feeling pretty relieved.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Yeah, morning dark, Yeah, and am very really very heavy
for the boys. Were a little bit of hurt in
there from round one and the last time we were
at home the Brumbies tortous a lesson, So we've sort
of delved into that throughout the week, sort of a
bit of internal motivation there for us. So for the
boys to go out there and you know, it wasn't pretty,
(01:32):
it wasn't clean. Playing with fourteen players for thirty minutes
probably didn't help the cause either, But ye're just really
proud of some of the effort that they put in,
the care they showed to you protect your home.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Imagine what you could do if you actually had a
full compliment for the full eighty minute.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Oh mate, it's been the story of this season. I
think we've had that might be five yellow cards in
total now already, So yeah, it's anywha of the game
we need to need to tidy up. I think four
of those have been been high shots as well. So yeah,
I think between the coaching crew and Matt Todd that
there might be a little bit of tackle technique craft
(02:13):
technic this week. But yeah, like you said, if we
can keep fifteen on the field, and it's definitely going
to help our rhythm and yet piece in particular as
well because of a few of them moving forwards.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Yeah, we can tell players till you blue in the face,
don't do it. What does it take for them to
actually take that advice to click that over? That's got
to come from an internal thought process or is it
just wrote learning repeating how do you go about doing
this and saying no, Yeah, we.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Spend a lot of time on tackle technique, and you know,
we walk it, we talk it, we run it, we
do it live like the boys do for hours and
hours into their craft. And I guess what we've got
to understand is a pretty dynamic game and things can
pictures can change and split second and you know, I
look back to Don Gardner's in the earlier rounds, I
(03:04):
look at Shae Fijackey's on the weekend, say, Boris was
one that you know you could have, you know, mitigated.
That was a bit of decision there. But yeah, a
lot of it's happening and split seconds, So just lowering
our body hide in general around the field, I think,
and making sure we target beneath the balls. That second
(03:25):
shoulders tackler is something we work on a lot. So
but yeah, our reactions, split second decision making that we
need to be better there because yeah, it's gonna it's
going to cost us dearly at some point.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
So tell us about the condition of your players, Who's
come through, who hasn't, What kind of state are the
boys in? And we're looking forward, of course to mine
I pussyfigure, isn't it next week?
Speaker 3 (03:49):
A lot better off than we were this time last week?
So the injury reports just come in. There's three or
four on there. They've all got green dots beside their name,
which is good. So I think, yeah, you're winning. Definitely helps.
But we've had some boys that have put I had
to play tough on the weekend. Share some of our
second rowers. We were getting pretty light there with Jamie
(04:10):
Henna and Liam jack Out, so really proud of Antonio
Shelfon and Taylor Cayhill. Taylor Kay actually played with a
broken bone in his chest, so yeah, he played played
for pretty tough and into great performance. And Antonio and
wil Tucker as well, both runder injury clouds throughout the week.
(04:33):
So they've will come through with flying colors, and yeah,
we'll assess a couple. Yeah, hopefully drew back this week
as well. So get stocks are on the rise a
little bit from the injury front, and I think after Malana.
We've got the bye week and it's going to come
at a pretty easy time for us.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
You are former Michael player, so you'd be looking to
the Tasman players that are out there smiling from ear
to ear and then contribution to the Crusaders over many
years has been gold. Looks like you found another one.
He's a Christ's kidd, he's from Rice, has moved up
to sunny Land. Tell us a wee bit more about
(05:11):
what they're calling him, Ethan Blackader Part two.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Yeah, it's a dead ringer for Ethan actually, and yeah,
we've been tracking Johnny for a week while right through
you know, those days at Christ College, and yeah, I
think he made the move. You know, there were quite
a few flankers around in Canterbury with Corey Kellow and
Tom Christie at the time, so you know he's seeing
(05:38):
an opportunity to get up there and Kasman just to
get game time at MPC in a bit more exposure
at a high level. And you know his work at
the New Zealand and the Twenties and World couple couple
of years ago was I think he started and almost
played every minute of every game on that. So he's
got a massive engine. He's a big body, has some
athlete and character. He has a dead set ring of
(06:00):
for Ethan Blackead. It just loves the grind, loves the unseen.
If it's his work, think not just you know in
the game, but you know in the gym, on the computers.
Extremely diligent and yeah, just a great human that you know,
wants to be better and wants to make the people
around him better. So we've got a lot of time
(06:21):
for Johnny. He's got a massive future and yeah, we're
just really proud of, you know, his effort throughout the
week to set himself up and get a crack at
the big time. He'd been playing extremely well for our
development fifteen, probably the player of the game and all
four of those fixtures, so he deserves the opportunity, and
we really wrap from Johnny.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Lee looks something else. It looks like a Hessian bag
full of elbows, shoulders and knees too. I wouldn't want
to tackle that.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Yeah, we stay away from him when we're holding hit shields.
That's for shotting Matt Todd as laid claim that he's
probably the hardest hit and Toddy still wants to hold
the hit shields, just to get a feel for these
guys tackling, and Johnny's right up there when he hits
those things.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
That was positive, plainly, the cards were a negative. What
else do you look toward after that game and go, hey,
you know what that actually settling really well after what's
been a pretty tumultuous season.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Yeah, just just just a rhythm. You know, we're our
own with the enemy in the first four rounds. You know,
even looking at that Chiefs game, we got away with
a couple there after a poor start, so we've just
been focusing on ourselves and you know, our era rate
was far too high, and those early parts of Super Rugby,
(07:41):
you know that it was better on the weekend. There's
still some areas that are handling and decision making that
we need to tidy up. But for the most part, yeah,
decision making obviously, discipline would have been okay. I think
thirteen penalties three yellow cards is as an area we
really have to tidy up, as we spoke about before,
and you know, an area that you know I'm in
(08:03):
charge of around the line out. I think it was
the best lineup performance of the of the season so
far as well, so there'd been a few honest conversations
throughout the week and yeah, really stoked for the boys
and how the line out operated. It yet ten out
of ten on the weekend, So a couple of areas
to tidy up in a couple of areas here that
we're really proud of.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Yeah, I dare I say, you really couldn't go much
further back with the line out, now, could you? Sorry?
Speaker 3 (08:26):
But it wasn't looking great and no, well we were
actually we won ninety four percent of the ball against
the Blues. But you've got to look at the whole
picture and the quality of ball that we were delivering.
And one line out got pushed out over the sideline,
which just isn't good enough. And then three deliveries to
our half back, whether the half back had overrun it
(08:47):
or our delivery from the top of the line out
wasn't wasn't great. So you know, it's winning the balls
one thing, but delivering top quality ball and or applying
pressure through your mall, you know, is the big picture.
So you have some really honest conversations on Monday morning
with the whole forward pack around know our diligence to
(09:07):
the line at the work we're putting in and it
wasn't one specific area, it was everything across the board,
so it was it was great to see the players
respond the way they did this weekend, and you know,
the trajectories are on the way up, I believe, so yeah,
I'm really proud of it.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Dan Parent, thanks so much for your time as always,
wishing you the best of best weeks. Get Gus stuck
in and maybe keep the locks and the props separated.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
Bring it back again and work for us during the week.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
I give us more of it, okay, Dan, we will see.
I just make sure I won't film it and report
back to it. Dan peer On, the assistant coach of
the Crusaders, I suggested Bullian because they managed to pick
up a win. We've been pretty awful going into the
sixth round with only one win, but as it happens
(09:57):
here two and three, so working out okay for the
Crusaders for the Red and Black.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason and Fine, listen
live to news Talks at b weekends from midday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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