Blackadder ignores the bookies
February 20, 2001

All Blacks captain Todd Blackadder says the Canterbury Crusaders are more focussed than ever and are determined to make it four successive Super 12 titles.

The Crusaders open the defence of their crown against the ACT Brumbies in Canberra on Friday night, but despite their record in recent year are again not fancied by bookies and the media.

Many have the ACT Brumbies as favourites to win the title this year, with the Wellington Hurricanes the big firmer as second favourite. The Crusaders are ranked third along with the Auckland Blues.

Blackadder, however, said going on previous years when few rated the Crusaders it was again difficult to listen to what people predicted this year.

"It's irrelevant to us what the TAB or the media think of us," Blackadder said. "What matters is our week to week focus. If you are picking the winners for the last three years they have all got it wrong so what does it really matter to us anyway?

"We start on equal footing this year and we have a young side with a few injuries but we have everything to play for and we've had a good preparation."

Live Sports

Communication error please reload the page.

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices