Crusaders anticipating 'a little bit of controversy' in Chiefs grudge match
The Crusaders have, over the years, dominated the Super Rugby competition, securing 12 titles throughout the competition’s 26-year history and managing a 70 per cent win-record throughout that period.
In the early years, the Blues were the Crusaders’ biggest rivals thanks to the sheer number of All Blacks boasted by the two franchises coupled with decades worth of history between the Auckland and Canterbury provincial sides.
In recent times, however, that rivalry has grown rather one-sided, with the Crusaders going undefeated against the Blues since 2014, chalking up 15 victories along the way.
Instead, it’s the men just south of the Blues who have taken up the mantle as the Crusaders’ fiercest foes, with the Chiefs causing plenty of frustrations for the men from Christchurch over the past decade.
In 2012 and 2013, buoyed on by ‘Chiefs Mana’ and some breakdown napalm instilled by new coach Dave Rennie, the Chiefs bested the Crusaders in back-to-back semi-finals in Hamilton en route to their two Super Rugby titles.
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More recently, the Chiefs managed four wins on the trot against the Crusaders in 2014 and 2015, and scored at least one victory each season from 2019 until 2021. At present, the Chiefs hold Super Rugby’s best success rate over the Crusaders – even if it does sit at only 40 per cent.
Throw in last year’s Super Rugby Aotearoa final – won by the Crusaders – and you have a fierce contest brewing ahead of Saturday’s game in Chritchurch.
“The boys have done a lot of homework for this game, which we have to,” Crusaders coach Scott Robertson said this week. “The Chiefs-Crusaders rivalry is as strong as ever.
“It’s tough, they’re close games, they always have a little bit of controversy or tight moments that you’ve gotta win to get the result. Hence the final last year is still pretty fresh in our minds and I’m sure it’s in theirs as well.”
Last year’s two games in Christchurch certainly didn’t lack for controversy, as alluded to by Robertson. In the first game between the two sides, the Crusaders were awarded a penalty try and Brad Weber was sent to the sin-bin after a clear knock-on from Richie Mo’unga, while both Codie Taylor and Sevu Reece were probably lucky to escape red cards in the Super Rugby Aotearoa final for dangerous tackles.
It’s the earlier seasons, when Rennie was involved, that many Crusaders remember the most, however.
“2012, 2013 seasons when Rens came in and created that sort of different edge – ‘Chiefs Mana’ – and they started to live by that mantra, the Crusaders couldn’t keep up with it,” Robertson said. “We got beaten in a couple of semi-finals and over the years it’s sort of been riddled with close matches along the way and [the Crusaders] felt like they’d sort of walked off the field and been beaten up. And the Chiefs had done a great job, they beat the Crusaders.
“We’re honest, we’re open about it. We know when we walk off the field if we’ve [been] beaten because we haven’t fronted up and that’s why the games are so great because we’ve probably brought our own edge to it so it’s a balance between both teams going at it. We both play great quality free-flowing footy as well, we’ve got some highly skilled athletes. So I think that’s where it’s stemmed from.”
Crusaders centurion Sam Whitelock echoed Robertson’s take on the rivalry.
“The Chiefs and Crusaders have an unbelievable history over the last 26 years Super Rugby’s been played,” he said. “I think if you look at it, it’s so competitive because no one team’s had dominance over the whole time. Crusaders have had it in the past, Chiefs have had it in the past.
“It just shows you can’t take anything for granted and this week’s exactly that. We haven’t played each other for a little bit and it’s going to be awesome to get out there.”
Whitelock made his debut for the Crusaders in 2010 and enjoyed three straight successes against the Chiefs before the 2012 season arrived. While the Chiefs have always been tough opposition, like every New Zealand franchise, Whitelock confirmed that the aggressive edge the Hamiltonians brought to the breakdown when Rennie came on board was what differentiated them from other high-calibre sides.
“Obviously, they were very successful in that little window there, I think it was 12 and 13, they won the comp two years in a row,” Whitelock said. “Every time I’ve played the Chiefs, whether it was in 2010 or last year, it’s always competitive. It’s always hard and it’s always physical – and that’s just not a Chiefs thing, that’s a New Zealand thing. We love to play against out neighbours or people we know really well within our country.
“But in saying that, [the breakdown aggression] was their strength, that’s what they were good at, that’s what separated them from the rest of the competition. It’s something that they’ve held onto for a while and they’re really good at so that’s something that we’ve gotta make sure we’re prepared for but at the same time, we’ve got to expect them to do something different.
“Teams are smart enough to change the way they’re playing, to attacking your weaknesses, and all week they’ve been sitting up there in Hamilton looking at how we play and they’ll be trying to find our weaknesses and they’ll be trying to exploit it.”
The Crusaders will host the Chiefs at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday evening at 7:05pm NZT.
Comments on RugbyPass
The rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
69 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
9 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
9 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
9 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
9 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
9 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
2 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to comments