Crusaders preferred opponent, Sloane says
By Brent Edwards

Coach Peter Sloane and his players were granted their wish when the Highlanders finished third and drew a Super 12 semifinal against the Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday night.

It is not that Sloane and his men do not have huge respect for the Crusaders, the defending champions who are two wins away from their third consecutive title. It is simply that Christchurch is closer to home than Canberra and, for the travel-weary Highlanders, that means more time sleeping in their own beds. It was a bleary-eyed team which returned to Dunedin after an early-morning vigil by the television, which had its reward when the Hurricanes were knocked out of play-off contention by the Bulls. This confirmed the Highlanders as semifinalists but the Blues did them another favour on Saturday night when they lost 26-33 to Queensland in Brisbane. That enabled the Highlanders to remain in third place and it was all systems go for Christchurch rather than Canberra. "Because of the travel factor we'd have to say the Crusaders were our preference," Sloane said. "They're a very complete team with a fantastic record but at least we know what they're about." Sloane said that, while it would be a difficult week to manage as players regained their normal sleeping patterns, it would not be as tough as last week.

"We're excited by the challenge. If you get another chance in anything in life you're silly not to take it. "We've achieved one goal. It's been a split season for us, really. "We started so well, then we had the bye and we've struggled away from home. "But I think you have to remember the two sides ahead of us [the Brumbies and Crusaders] had six home games and we only had five." However, Sloane acknowledged the Highlanders had not been successful travellers. "We're professional players and we should be able to win away. Everyone's used to travel. We've tried to address it but so far we've left our best on our home park." Sloane said the energy levels were down during the loss to the Waratahs on Friday night. "We've seen it all before. It's difficult to arrive on the Monday night and play on the Friday. "We were always going to be tired. It was just a matter of sticking to our guns and, while it was a disappointing result, there was still some courageous stuff on defence."

Sloane acknowledged the Highlanders would need to improve to beat the Crusaders but was upbeat about the tour of South Africa and Australia. "We played some good rugby against the Bulls and we showed a lot of character - look what happened to the Hurricanes, who followed us against the Bulls." Sloane said crucial handling errors and turnovers had plagued the Highlanders in recent weeks. "You put that down to the brain not being quite active enough and possibly changing time zones. "But the whole thing starts again for us now and we've got to get ourselves up to make the most of it."