McKenzie: "We"re a better team than that"

After four years of great memories during his time with the Reds, including a Super Rugby title, new Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie said many of the games would stick with him, but Saturday night’s loss to the Crusaders would not be one of them.

The inability to win in Christchurch since 1999 came home to haunt the Reds as they went down 38-9 to miss out on a semi-finals berth.

“You have to be there and you have to be right for the night but we didn’t get it right,” he said.

McKenzie was impressed with the Crusaders, they did some very good things, and just kept on doing them, he said. They were heading in the right direction and would be a threat come the finals.

“They defended well, they certainly attacked well, their breakdown work – all those things are important come finals time. They know that. Their formline coming into this game was pretty good and I’ve been really impressed with their efforts over the last three weeks so that’s what you need. You need to be playing well at the right time, and they certainly are,” he said.

The Reds had missed their more experienced players, especially when mis-reading some of the Crusaders plays and the mistakes had been pounced upon by the home team to run in tries.

“They went through, scored two tries and they you are under pressure chasing and it’s not a great place to be in.

“We’ve been really proud of our defence all year so it was a disappointing night for us.

“It’s the worst night in terms of leaking tries for the whole season. We’re a better team that we showed tonight,” he said.

While he hadn’t seen the video evidence regarding a non-try to flanker Liam Gill, he said the advice he received was that it was a good chance of a try. But the failure to get points early in the second half had left the task even harder for the side.

Reds captain James Horwill said the Crusaders had been very clinical and had made the most of the Reds mistakes.

“If they continue to play like that they will be a tough team to beat in this competition,” he said.

The Crusaders had been very effective in their play at the breakdown, not always committing but when they did they managed to deny the Reds ball and prevent them gaining any momentum.

Horwill didn’t think the hangover from the British and Irish Lions series was a factor in the loss. He would have preferred one more game but everyone had known what was front of them and that wasn’t an excuse.

Horwill acknowledged that the loss was not a fitting farewell for McKenzie who had been a massive part of the last four years with the side and he had deserved better, he said.

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/23346439

McKenzie: "We"re a better team than that"