Relief for Crusaders at return of the Mac

DON SCOTT/Fairfax Media

WIN SOME, LOSE SOME: The 2009 Crusaders have lost star first five Dan Carter but they will have All Blacks fullback Leon MacDonald fit and ready when the season kicks off.

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New Crusaders assistant coach Daryl Gibson is less worried about the star player he won't have in 2009 as he is excited over the one he will have to anchor his young backline.

Gibson confirmed in an interview with RugbyHeaven that crocked All Black fullback Leon MacDonald is expected to be fit and available for next year's Rebel Sport Super 14. That, he added, was a major relief for the defending champions who will find their senior figure in the No 15 an invaluable resource.

There had been fears that MacDonald, who has not played any rugby since suffering a head knock in the July 12 Tri-Nations clash against the Springboks in Dunedin, would have his career ended prematurely.

But Gibson was happy to confirm that MacDonald would be there in 2009, and all going well would be back to his best.

"He's good to go," said the newly appointed assistant to head coach Todd Blackadder. "Obviously he's had some time now to work through, get fit and have an off-season. We're excited. He'll come back in the new year and contribute a lot. With his experience he now he becomes an important member of our backline."

Especially with no Dan Carter there in 2009, with the star playmaker off on his Perpignan sabbatical and the five-eighth role in the hands of Stephen Brett or new boy Colin Slade.

Gibson says the absence of Carter is something he's not losing any sleep over and the former Crusaders great, who's back off a six-year stint in the UK, feels either of the young stand-ins can do the job more than capably.

"Colin Slade had a wonderful second half to the NPC, and certainly looks a fine prospect. Obviously Stephen Brett has tons of talent but he's under a little bit of pressure to show us what he's got."

Gibson acknowledges that, with the likes of Caleb Ralph and Scott Hamilton having also departed, that he inherits a backline long on promise and short on experience, especially in the back three.

"We're probably a bit thin in the three-quarters," he said. "We're excited at Jared Payne joining us, and we think he's an exciting talent. But you'd say if you look at our team we're very strong inside the centres, and outside with a few injuries could be struggling.

"We've got young guys still learning their trade, and that's a challenge all five franchises are facing. It's just a fact we're dealing with younger men - that's modern day rugby."

Providing MacDonald fulfils his coach's faith, the Crusaders have no issues at fullback, but will look to youngsters Kade Poki, Sean Maitland and Adam Whitelock, and possibly Payne, to provide the finishing out wide.

Gibson, who is fresh off a successful coaching stint in Glasgow, says he, Blackadder and Mark Hammett are more than comfortable with the squad they've been able to assemble.

"We've got a lot of young talent, a lot of enthusiasm, and across the team you could probably say we're a bit light on experience and leadership. But in saying that it gives someone an opportunity to step up and lead the team."

In many ways the image of the defending champions as a young team looking to find its new identity quickly is an apt one, because the coaches are also faced with a similar challenge.

They succeed the uber-successful Deans and as a trio have no qualms about the level of expectation they inherit.

"I think it's good for us," said Gibson who was a cornerstone of the title-winning Crusaders teams of the late-90s. "Obviously there's high level of expectation and that transfers right through to the players and what we expect from them.

"As coaches we expect it of ourselves. There are high standards that have been set and I guess it's up to us to maintain those standards."

Gibson also hinted that the new trio will not simply be picking up the torch passed them by Deans. That we should expect some new things from the Crusaders in 2009.

"At the Crusaders we've always prided ourselves on innovation. That hasn't changed. We're already talked at great length about how we think the game will grow and trying to pick the new trends.

"Everyone's got their own take on how they should play the game. We think it's become a kick-dominated game, and we're trying to redress that balance."

In other words the more things change, the more they stay the same. The personnel, and even the ideas may be new, but the ethos remains rooted in tradition.

Gibson concedes that after six years away, certain things remained iron-clad around this champion franchise.

"I came back in May for a week with the Crusaders, and I was very pleased that the things we held dear 10 years ago were still the same."

Including the expectation from a public that simply demands success.

"And they should," adds Gibson. "The Crusaders public have always expected a lot from the team. That's important. People want to support winners and that's what we aim to be."