All you need to know about the Super Rugby final: Crusaders v Jaguares
By Christopher Reive, NZ Herald
Will the Crusaders lock away another Super Rugby title, or can the Jaguares cause a famous upset? Christopher Reive takes you through all you need to know ahead of the Super Rugby final.
The breakdown
The Jaguares are in uncharted territory – and it couldn’t be a more exciting prospect for them. The Argentinians will run out in their first Super Rugby final on Saturday night, in their fourth year in the competition. With an 11-5 record earning them the top spot in the South African conference, they’ll undoubtedly gain a lot of support from the neutral fans as the underdogs against the nine-time champion Crusaders, who are looking for their third straight title.
The Crusaders finished the regular season with 11 wins, three draws and two losses, to sit atop the New Zealand conference. On the road to the final, the Jaguares beat the Chiefs and Brumbies, while the Crusaders took down the Highlanders and Hurricanes to qualify.
The Crusaders are without a number of key players, including departing midfielder Ryan Crotty who has been ruled out and robbed of the chance at a dream finish to his Crusaders career. The two sides avoided each other during the regular season, with their last meeting a 40-14 win to the Crusaders in April of 2018.
Key match-up
It’s not a player match-up that will be key to either side winning, but an eight-player match-up. The performances of the packs could very well be where this game is won. The Jaguares are a big, physical team who are at their best when they are able to win the battle in the forwards. They’re happy to grind away through their big men in order to open the game up for the backs.
The Crusaders possess one of the strongest packs in the competition, but are missing a key cog in Scott Barrett. Barrett has been a big part of the team this season and his ability to move seamlessly from lock to flanker has been an asset. Mitchell Dunshea has big shoes to fill, but the Crusaders will definitely be up for the challenge the Jaguares pack presents.
Squads
Crusaders: David Havili, Sevu Reece, Braydon Ennor, Jack Goodhue, George Bridge, Richie Mo’unga, Bryn Hall, Kieran Read, Matt Todd, Whetukamokamo Douglas, Sam Whitelock, Mitchell Dunshea, Owen Franks, Codie Taylor, Joe Moody.
Reserves: Andrew Makalio, George Bower, Michael Alaalatoa, Luke Romano, Jordan Taufua, Mitchell Drummond, Mitchell Hunt, Will Jordan.
Jaguares: Emiliano Boffelli, Matias Moroni, Matias Orlando, Jeronimo de la Fuente, Ramiro Moyano, Joaquin Diaz Bonilla, Tomas Cubelli, Javier Ortega Desio, Marcos Kremer, Pablo Matera, Tomas Lavanini, Guido Petti, Santiago Medrano, Agustin Creevy, Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro.
Reserves: Julian Montoya, Mayco Vivas, Enrique Pieretto, Juan Manuel Leguizamon, Tomas Lezana, Felipe Ezcurra, Domingo Miotti, Sebastian Cancelliere.
Where and when?
Orangetheory Stadium, Christchurch; Saturday July 6; 7.35pm kick-off.
This article first appeared on nzherald.co.nz and is republished with permission
Watch – Crusaders pre-Super Rugby final press conference:
Comments on RugbyPass
Let’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
4 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
4 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to comments