Crusaders face 'hard questions'

Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder said that his team need to take a hard look at themselves after losing at home to a 13-man Sharks side.

The Sharks were reduced to 14 players early in the game when flank Jean Deysel was shown a red card for stomping on Jordan Taufua and they were down to 13 when No.8 Willem Alberts was shown a late yellow card for taking a player out off the ball.

However, the Sharks somehow managed to hang on to record a gritty 30-25 victory – their first-ever in Christchurch – and

Blackadder admitted that they have some serious thinking to do with the play-offs looming.

"I thought it was a really, really poor performance. Right from the very start. I don't know [why] and there's going to be some hard questions asked," he told Fairfax NZ News.

The Crusaders coach said that there cannot be any excuses for his team's limp performance.

"We had a great week of preparation, the motivation was high and we knew what was at stake. It was lacklustre right from the start.

"Right across the park it was pretty poor, we had our moments – our opportunities," he said.

Sharks Director of Rugby Jake White apologised for Deysel's reaction but added that he was proud of the way the team pulled together.

 "Firstly we apologise. That's not the way we want to play. As a franchise we are not proud of that. I don't enjoy that, I don't coach like that and I don't enjoy sitting there when you almost don't have a contest before it starts.

"But I must say that I am proud of the ticker the boys showed.

"To play with 13 guys at one stage against a championship side like this… It is obviously something that is very pleasing to me.

"We won the game but at the same time we can't afford to play with 14 men. I'm not an advocate of that sort of thing," he said.