Rob Penney hast kept his job as head coach of the Crusaders despite a four-win, 10-loss record from the recent Super Rugby Pacific season, with franchise boss Colin Mansbridge saying today that it would have been a “knee-jerk reaction” to sack him.
Mansbridge spoke to media this morning after the Crusaders board signed off on keeping Penney for the final year of his contract.
This was recommended by two independent reviews into a horror season which saw the defending champions fall from their previous heights and finish ninth, outside the playoffs.
“We have a list of things that we want to improve across the spectrum,” Mansbridge said. "There are a few changes that we will do… but most of them are around process and the way we work. A change of coaching personnel is not part of the 2025 plan.”
Penney, an experienced coach who has previously worked in the NPC, as well as in Ireland and Japan and at Super Rugby level in Australia, replaced the hugely successful Scott Robertson on a two-year deal starting in 2024.
He is widely understood to be carrying out a caretaker role, with Tamati Ellison, an assistant at the Crusaders and currently helping the All Blacks, set to take over for 2026 and beyond.
But Penney’s troubles at the Waratahs – he was sacked after a run of losses – in his first stint at Super Rugby level followed him back to Christchurch this year.
The Crusaders, heavily affected by the departures of senior players Richie Mo’unga and Sam Whitelock, plus injuries to key players, were wildly inconsistent.
Five of the team’s 10 losses were by five points or fewer but some of Penney’s selections were mystifying, including moving senior player David Havili from the midfield to first-five and back again, and some veterans are understood to have complained about not being able to get on Penney’s wavelength.
Penney also found himself in controversy when using an obscenity to describe a 1News reporter in a “hot-mic” moment after a press conference near the end of the season. Mansbridge (but not Penney) publicly apologised for the incident.
Mansbridge today said there were about 50 “action items from the report”.
“Some of them are subtle, others are more material, but there will be no changes to the coaches.”
The Crusaders are by far the most successful Super Rugby franchise, winning 14 titles, including two New Zealand championships (due to Covid) since 1996. In total, they won seven under Robertson.
Mansbridge said one of the report writers had predicted the Crusaders would be semifinalists at worst at the start of last season. “Based on the combinations we were forced to field last season, they were unsurprised by our finish,” Mansbridge said.
“No one is happy with where we are at. That’s why we’ve got 50 things to do between now at the end of next season.
“Coaches and staff and the CEO feel the pressure, I can assure you of that.”
Mansbridge confirmed that another pre-season tour of the United Kingdom was not on the cards next year.
The Crusaders played Munster and Bristol at the start of the year - a lucrative exercise but one which would have added to travel fatigue and potentially squad disconnection as the team's All Blacks stayed home.
SHARE ME