Crusaders hire external firm to undertake autopsy of disastrous season

The Crusaders finished their season on a high with a 43-10 win over Moana Pasifika but it wasn't enough to secure playoff qualification as the Fijian Drua locked up the final spot.

Their fate was left outside their control after too many stumbles throughout the season, settling for a 4-10 record under first year head coach Rob Penney.

In his post-match interview Penney lamented the fine margins that the side has had this year, with six games decided by seven points or less and two games on full-time.

But now that the season is in the history books, the club will begin the post-mortem starting with a review by external agency Gain Line Analytics.

“We do a review. We do one every year, sometimes we get external help, and this year we will,” CEO Colin Mansbridge told media during a 20 minute interview session.

The Crusaders boss steered away from speculating on the future of Penney who is still under contract for another season.

“We will do the review,” Mansbridge said when asked on Penney's future.

“We've got to make sure we focus on doing a really quality review, it's going to be performance focussed, it will be focussed on what we can do better.

"We won't be scapegoating anyone and we won't be making any knee-jerk reactions."

Aside for conjecture around team selections, which Mansbridge said was a common issue among the players every year, there was no evidence of team unhappiness from within the squad.

"There was no evidence of dysfunction," he said.

"You go through a great season, and everybody remembers lifting the trophy, and they forget all of the grit that it's taken you to get there.

"Everyone thinks it's this wonderful, perfect experience...and they forget everything that's happened in between."