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Crusaders reveal changing room 'wasn’t a very nice place to be' after home loss to Hurricanes

July 28, 2020

The Hurricanes handed the Crusaders their first defeat in Christchurch since 2016 with the 34-32 win.

The Crusaders' loss to the Hurricanes on Saturday hit hard for many players on the team - for some, it was their first loss at home in their Crusaders careers.

Young fullback Will Jordan was one of those subject to a loss in Christchurch for the first time and said the 34-32 defeat was a weird sensation to take in.

"It was a bit of a strange feeling on Saturday night in the sheds," the 22-year-old said.

"The boys weren't quite sure how to react to it."

Reserve halfback Mitchell Drummond painted a rougher scene.

"It hurt on Saturday. It's a feeling we haven't felt for a while," he said.

"I think a positive thing we can take from it is that it hurt so much - that changing room wasn't a very nice place to be on Saturday night after the game."

Prior to Saturday's loss, the Crusaders were on a 36-match winning streak at home but, like they did back in 2016 in the match before the streak started, the Hurricanes proved too much and took down the Canterbury powerhouse in their fortress.

"That's the thing about footy - there's always going to be a loser on the day," Jordan added.

"We took Saturday night to reflect on that and then the focus this week has been to move forward to the Chiefs."

Drummond added the reflection was vital to resetting the team's campaign, with both the Hurricanes and Blues now creeping up on them in the standings with three rounds to go.

"We had a good, honest review yesterday," he said.

"It was nice to have those honest conversations but that's done now."

The Crusaders will look to return to the winner's circle on Saturday night when they take on the Chiefs in Hamilton at 7pm.

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