Hot Toddy's ready to roll

BY RICHARD KNOWLER

Todd Blackadder has cut a relaxed figure at trainings this week. There have been no obvious signs the new Crusaders head coach is feeling twitchy as he contemplates his first season in charge of the most successful franchise in the history of the Super rugby competition.

Most coaches react differently with the media when the heat goes on; former Crusaders boss Robbie Deans was amiable without giving too much away, even when the tape recorders were switched off.

Western Force coach John Mitchell gave the impression he would rather eat a live cockroach than waste his time with the Fourth Estate, while Eddie Jones, especially during his stint with the Queensland Reds, only needed the slightest of prods before offering a juicy morsel for a dynamite headline.

As the rain gently fell after training at Rugby Park yesterday, Blackadder was in a jovial mood, offering to hold an umbrella for an overloaded reporter during a media scrum and afterwards spending a few minutes speculating which teams could win this weekend's opening round.

Things, however, might not always be this cosy if the Crusaders start dropping results.

For Blackadder, and his assistant coaches, Mark Hammett and Daryl Gibson, the real business starts tomorrow night in the opening match against the Chiefs at AMI Stadium.

The stakes, for Blackadder especially, are high.

As the captain of the Crusaders (he retired after the 2001 campaign), Canterbury, and later, the All Blacks, the former lock/blindside flanker generated a massive amount of goodwill among his fans. He was viewed as a player who, when the fulltime whistle sounded, had left no gas in the tank. He gave as good as he got, with perhaps a bit extra for good measure.

Whenever popular players switch to coaching, their supporters' loyalty is tested, and the coach is often the first to have fingers jabbed in his direction if a team starts losing.

Comparing Blackadder to Deans, who guided the Crusaders to five Super titles as head coach, would be unfair, but the former knows many expect him to attain instant results. That expectation does not only come from within the Crusaders' region - the TAB has tipped the team to go all the way and win another title, and pundits and commentators from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa are also chirping from the same song sheet.

As a former All Blacks captain, Blackadder has operated in the white-hot atmosphere of test matches that required quick decision-making and the ability to carry the nation's hopes in the national sport. Now, he will have to cope with the scrutiny of what he has achieved from within the four walls of his coaching box.

Blackadder has not been tossed an easy start to his campaign; the Chiefs beat the Highlanders, Blues and Hurricanes in pre-season games and coach Ian Foster will be desperate not to be shown up by the rookie Super 14 coach.

"I have not really thought about that. I will wait until I get the scrutiny before I worry about that too much," Blackadder said when quizzed about his step into the big time. "But I'm just really enjoying it . . . You just have to believe you have done everything you can do, and got to have trust and faith in players to perform.

"You still get the butterflies and the anxiety, but I just want our team to do well."

While he has lost star first five- eighth Dan Carter and lock Ali Williams, Blackadder has been left the spine of the team that is capable of making the playoffs. From there, anything can happen.

Skipper Richie McCaw noted the incoming coaches have been savvy enough not to go turning the Crusaders ship upside down in a bid to stamp their style on the side.

As players, Hammett and Gibson won titles with the Crusaders and, by "helping to establish the culture", McCaw believes they have got the recipe right. "Those sorts of things have not changed at all.

"It would be easy for a new coach to come in and have all these different ideas about that . . . whereas they have come in and kept the good stuff.

"The thing with these fellows is that they have been overseas and they have brought their own little bit of style to how we play, too.

"When you have had a guy [Deans] for a long time - and he was good at what he did - but having someone new has been quite refreshing for me."

- © Fairfax NZ News