Kieran Ried hands over captaincy to Richie McCaw for Crusaders Super XV semi-final – Rugby news
New Zealand’s Super Rugby franchise, Crusaders, stand-in skipper Kieran Ried has handed over the captaincy role to Richie McCaw. McCaw missed most of the 2011 Super Rugby matches due to his injuries. In his absence, Kieran Ried has led the team into the
Super XV semi-finals.
Crusaders will take on the Stormers on Saturday, July 2 at Newlands Stadium, Cape Town. Ried will start the match at his very own number eight position.
Ried has termed the inclusion of the McCaw as very important to the team’s performance. When asked about handing over the captaincy to McCaw, Ried said, “For me, I've just got to help him out and pretty much be his lieutenant on the field and continue what
I've been doing and that is putting a performance in that can help the team.”
Ried expects that McCaw will face stiff challenge from his Stormers counterpart Nick Koster. He has also stressed on the need to start the game with intensity. He added that Crusaders all season long have been able to keep their intensity high and the same
strategy has earned them a victory in their last game against the Sharks.
Ried has denounced the reports and analyses by certain segments that the travelling will affect their performance in Saturday’s clash. He said, “We've experienced that (travelling long distances before playoffs) three of the last four years, coming to South
Africa in semifinals, so we have to make sure that we learn from the previous years. I think we have done that, so it's all about being right and recovering well for Saturday.”
Crusaders will have to travel approximately 11,000 km to reach the South African city of Cape Town.
When asked about who Crusaders will prefer to play in this year’s Super Rugby final, Ried replied, “We can't really worry too much about that game because if we worry about the other result now it will detract from our performance.”
Ried further added that if Blues win over the Reds, then Crusaders will be happy to play a match on their home turf and in front of their fans.
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