Latest news with #WillJordan
NZ Herald
4 days ago
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Crusaders v Reds live updates: Super Rugby qualifying round
The Crusaders host the Reds in the first qualifying round match of the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs. Crusaders team to face the Reds The Crusaders will be bolstered with the return of All Black Will Jordan as they host the Reds on Friday night in the first match of a new-look Super Rugby Pacific playoffs format. The 27-year-old will don the fullback jersey after almost a month on the sidelines with a knee injury, in one of four changes made by coach Rob Penney to the starting lineup that edged the Brumbies 33-31 in Canberra at the weekend. The Crusaders' front row stocks have also been strengthened, with All Black Fletcher Newell named at tighthead prop and Kershawl Sykes-Martin on the bench after both nursing injuries. The midfield combination of captain David Havili and Braydon Ennor returns to round out the changes made to the starting XV. While the Crusaders sit comfortably in second place heading into the qualifying finals, their spot in the Super Rugby Pacific semifinals is not guaranteed. If they lose to the Reds on Friday and the Blues upset the Chiefs in Hamilton, the Crusaders' season will be over. Crusaders: 1. Tamaiti Williams, 2. Codie Taylor, 3. Fletcher Newell, 4. Scott Barrett, 5. Antonio Shalfoon, 6. Ethan Blackadder, 7. Tom Christie, 8. Christian Lio-Willie, 9. Noah Hotham, 10. Rivez Reihana, 11. Sevu Reece, 12. David Havili (c), 13. Braydon Ennor, 14. Chay Fihaki, 15. Will Jordan. Bench: 16. George Bell, 17. George Bower, 18. Kershawl Sykes-Martin, 19. Tahlor Cahill, 20. Cullen Grace, 21. Kyle Preston, 22. James O'Connor, 23. Dallas McLeod.
Otago Daily Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
'You always want to be playing finals footy': Will Jordan ready for the playoffs
The Crusaders have one of their strongest weapons back for the playoffs and he can't wait to try and help his side to another Super Rugby title. All Blacks fullback Will Jordan returns from injury for the side for Friday night's quarter-final against the Reds in Christchurch. "I was always looking at this window so I'm stoked the knee has been able to get back in action this week for an important game for us," Jordan said. "At this time of year everyone has bumps and bruises - it's the nature of the game so strap it up and get out there. It's certainly not one you want to miss so no reservations from me about getting back into this weekend." Jordan has recovered from the knee injury that has sidelined him since early May when he was hurt playing against the Chiefs. He's confident he can hit the ground running and knows if he doesn't perform there are others happy to take his place. "In this environment, there's always pressure," he said. "It's a results business, so every week you've go to perform. Johnny McNicholl played well while I was out so it's on me to come back in and keep up the good form he was doing, but not to try to do too much as well." Jordan missed all of last season with injury and is thrilled to be getting a crack at the Super Rugby finals. "Through the whole year it drove me to be involved as much as I can and try and contribute. You always want to be playing finals footy in these big games," Jordan said. "I'm grateful to be in this position now and to be able to go out there and play with freedom on Friday." The hosts have four All Blacks back this week and coach Rob Penney said the team selection was close to the Crusaders' strongest starting lineup this year. Penney said Jordan's return was a boost. "He's such an important part of the Crusaders' mix. He's had acknowledgment worldwide about his capabilities and any team he plays in, he's such an asset. "Without putting any burdens on him, he'll be a point of difference. No doubt." This season's new playoff format has come under fire after it was revealed that the Hurricanes clash with the Brumbies on Saturday night in Canberra could be a dead rubber depending on previous results, with both sides potentially advancing to the semi-finals. Jordan said the Crusaders aren't worrying about anything other than beating the Reds. "It's pretty simple for us," Jordan said. "You just win and you're through to the next week." Crusaders team to face the Reds: Tamaiti Williams (VC) Codie Taylor Fletcher Newell Scott Barrett Antonio Shalfoon Ethan Blackadder Tom Christie Christian Lio-Willie Noah Hotham Rivez Reihana Sevu Reece (C) David Havili Braydon Ennor Chay Fihaki Will Jordan Impact George Bell George Bower Kershawl Sykes-Martin Jamie Hannah Cullen Grace Kyle Preston James O'Connor Johnny McNicholl Players unavailable for selection due to injury: Finaly BREWIS Shoulder (surgery) Out for the season Taha Kemara Knee (surgery) Out for the season Dom GARDINER Foot (surgery) Out for the season
RNZ News
6 days ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Crusaders 'point of difference' fullback Will Jordan ready to rumble
Crusaders fullback Will Jordan celebrates a try. Photo: Brett Phibbs / The Crusaders have one of their strongest weapons back for the playoffs and he can't wait to try and help his side to another Super Rugby title. Will Jordan is back for the Crusaders. Photo: Martin Hunter/ActionPress All Blacks fullback Will Jordan returns from injury for the side for Friday night's quarter-final against the Reds in Christchurch. "I was always looking at this window so I'm stoked the knee has been able to get back in action this week for an important game for us," Jordan said. "At this time of year everyone has bumps and bruises - it's the nature of the game so strap it up and get out there. It's certainly not one you want to miss so no reservations from me about getting back into this weekend." Jordan has recovered from the knee injury that has sidelined him since early May when he was hurt playing against the Chiefs. He's confident he can hit the ground running and knows if he doesn't perform there are others happy to take his place. "In this environment, there's always pressure," he said. "It's a results business, so every week you've go to perform. Johnny McNicholl played well while I was out so it's on me to come back in and keep up the good form he was doing, but not to try to do too much as well." Jordan missed all of last season with injury and is thrilled to be getting a crack at the Super Rugby finals. "Through the whole year it drove me to be involved as much as I can and try and contribute. You always want to be playing finals footy in these big games," Jordan said. "I'm grateful to be in this position now and to be able to go out there and play with freedom on Friday." Will Jordan. Photo: PHOTOSPORT The hosts have four All Blacks back this week and coach Rob Penney said the team selection was close to the Crusaders' strongest starting lineup this year. Penney said Jordan's return was a boost. "He's such an important part of the Crusaders' mix. He's had acknowledgment worldwide about his capabilities and any team he plays in, he's such an asset. "Without putting any burdens on him, he'll be a point of difference. No doubt." This season's new playoff format has come under fire after it was revealed that the Hurricanes clash with the Brumbies on Saturday night in Canberra could be a dead rubber depending on previous results, with both sides potentially advancing to the semi-finals. Jordan said the Crusaders aren't worrying about anything other than beating the Reds. "It's pretty simple for us," Jordan said. "You just win and you're through to the next week."
NZ Herald
11-05-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Crusaders v Chiefs: Will Jordan facing nervous wait over severity of knee injury
As the Crusaders mount a charge into the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs, they do so with an element of uncertainty. Fullback Will Jordan left the field early in the side's 35-19 defeat to the Chiefs with a knee injury, leaving his availability for their remaining fixtures up in the air. Jordan has been a key piece for the Crusaders' success this season, featuring in all 11 matches after missing the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific campaign with a shoulder injury. Speaking after the loss, coach Rob Penney says they face a nervous wait to determine the severity of the injury but has all but ruled the All Blacks star out of Friday's clash with the New South Wales Waratahs. 'I'm not across the detail, but we wouldn't expect him to be available next week, but we'll just see what unfolds,' Penney says.
NZ Herald
27-04-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Blues and Crusaders: How New Zealand rugby's two biggest sides flipped their fortunes around
And so, at this stage of the 2025 season, it looks like 2024 was an aberration – a one-off year in which the Blues produced consistently controlled and accurate rugby to be crowned champions, while the Crusaders forgot entirely who they are and what they are all about. The surprising part of what has happened this year is not the Crusaders' revival. Last year, they were beset with what at times felt like a never-ending injury list that saw them play for long periods without Scott Barrett and Will Jordan and, perhaps most significantly, without No 10 Fergus Burke, leaving them with a cohort of untried first fives. On top of that, Rob Penney had arrived as the new head coach and struggled to select combinations and build cohesion. It was all a bit of a mess, but the thing about a dynasty is that there is so much rugby intelligence plugged deep into the framework that the Crusaders knew how to accurately review their disastrous season and how to fix the problems they encountered. When a side have such an ingrained culture, such an established way of doing things, there is a North Star by which the coaching and management group can be guided and a well-lit path to follow back to the top of the table. The Crusaders used the off-season to find a new captain. Barrett led the team in 2024 and was also captain of the All Blacks – and the Crusaders had learned from Richie McCaw and Kieran Read that it's a smart move to relieve the national team captain from the responsibility of the Super job. They have tapped into their DNA to remember they have a destructive scrum, stuck by Taha Kemara as their starting 10, built greater consistency in their key combinations – and the Crusaders of 2025 are playing like the Crusaders of 2017-2023. It's like they have realised the whole system was there and working all the time – they just had to remember which lead went where. That the Blues have found it so hard to maintain their 2024 form illustrates the difference between being a one-off champion club against being a dynasty club. The Blues, under new head coach Vern Cotter, hit on a simple but effective game plan last year, in which they hyper-focused attacking in one area – around the ruck – with such relentlessness as to eventually break all defensive resistance. Two things have happened this year – they haven't been able to replicate the same accuracy, intensity and patience that defined their championship-winning season, and they haven't been able to tap into an ingrained culture of excellence to come up with the right answers to adapt their game plan. Against the Crusaders two weeks ago – a game the Blues had dominated but lost in the last minute – it looked as if they were maybe chugging into a higher gear and about to mount a late-season charge to the playoffs, with their pick-and-drive, hyper-focused game starting to find its old power and cohesion. But on Friday against the Reds, they took three steps backwards and couldn't find the control, discipline, accuracy or calmness they needed. The easy thing to do would be to say that they have failed to evolve strategically but their basic philosophy of playing a tight, driving game, supported by a territorial kicking strategy, still seems right. Where they are being let down is in their set-piece work, which remains patchy. The lineout is hit and miss and the scrum looks vulnerable. Again, the same problem evidenced in Christchurch was on show again in Brisbane, which is that their skill execution and decision-making deep inside the opposition red zone is erratic. There is a lack of subtlety and variation when they shift the ball wider in their attempts to strike the killer blow after a sustained period of pick and drive and the A.J. Lam-Rieko Ioane midfield combination is potentially devastating but is not operating with enough finesse or element of surprise. These are issues, particularly the volatile set-piece work, that dynasty clubs don't tend to have because there is an ability to consistently deliver the core parts of the game to the required level. The Blues won a championship a particular way in 2024, but the demands of Super Rugby are such, that to do it again in 2025, they needed to build some variation without weakening the foundations. They needed to not lose sight of who they are and how they play, and to add new levels to their game. The Blues still have hope, albeit its fading, that they can find a way to retain their title in 2025, but they will already have learned that there is a huge difference between being a championship club and a dynasty club. Gregor Paul is one of New Zealand's most respected rugby writers and columnists. He has won multiple awards for journalism and written several books about sport.
