England centurion Dan Cole has bravely put his voice to an argument that Southern Hemisphere club sides aren’t prepared to win top-level Northern Hemisphere titles.
Speaking on his podcast ‘For The Love of Rugby’, Cole discussed the way in which club sides in the southern hemisphere are set up for a “sprint” rather than a “marathon”, suggesting that a Crusaders squad would not have the depth or endurance perform over a full league season.
The Crusaders are one of New Zealand’s finest rugby franchises. In the short history of the Super Rugby competition, the Crusaders Rugby team have won the tournament 14 times, including the inaugural season of the Super Rugby Aotearoa tournament in 2020.
Despite the poor season that the Christchurch-based side is currently having, they are still viewed as the epitome of rugby excellence around the world.
Speaking to co-host Ben Youngs, Cole said:
”If you brought the Crusaders into the Northern Hemisphere game and make them go for the entire calendar year and play rugby, in the attritional nature of Northern Hemisphere rugby, it would be interesting to see how they did.
“I would say the Crusaders side is set up almost for a sprint rather than a marathon like Northern Hemisphere rugby.
“Depending on how you frame the argument, and how you frame the competition, would they win the final after playing 40 back-to-back games? I would question that.
“But in a one-off game, you’d definitely back them and say they’ll be probably favourites in some regard.”
The Crusaders wouldn’t win a title in the Northern Hemisphere 🚫
Dan Cole explains why 👇 pic.twitter.com/xXdUoF71by
— For The Love Of Rugby (@LoveOfRugby_) May 13, 2024
Despite arguing that the Crusaders would not have it in their locker to last a full English Premiership season, Cole did say that in a one-off match against the league’s best side – the Crusaders would have the edge.
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