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Has the 'crescendo' of Super Rugby Pacific come early?
Super Rugby Aotearoa may have been scrapped this year in favour of a trans-Tasman competition but it looks like we’re still set for a New Zealand final of sorts on Friday night when the Blues take on the Crusaders in Christchurch.
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While Super Rugby Pacific was originally supposed to run like any round-robin tournament, with teams from NZ regularly taking on Australian opposition (and vice-versa) throughout the year, Covid forced changes to the draw, effectively segregating the two nations until the halfway point of the season. That means from next week until the end of the regular season, trans-Tasman derbies will be the name of the game.
The postponement of matches earlier in the season has also flipped the competition on its head somewhat. While the Blues and Crusaders were initially supposed to square off in Round 5 but due to several positive Covid cases in both squads, it has been rescheduled to this weekend.
Sometimes, fate can deal a cruel hand. Front-loading the season with derbies has undoubtedly seen some fans turn off from the competition thanks to the repetitive nature of some matches. While the fixture between the Chiefs and Crusaders has always been a hum-dinger, the 26 March clash marked the eighth time the two teams have squared off in the space of two and a half years.
On the flip side, the postponement of the Crusaders match against the Blues has ensured a bumper finish to the derby section of the season, with Friday evening’s match essentially acting as a Super Rugby Aotearoa final. There may not be a trophy on offer, but whoever scores a victory in Christchurch will go into the knockout rounds knowing they have a big psychological advantage over their traditional rival, should they meet again at some stage. With the Blues and Crusaders currently occupying second and third spots on the ladder at present, it would not come as a shock to see these two teams meet again in the grand final, set to be held on the 18th of June.
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Without a doubt, the Blues and Crusaders are currently the front-runners in the competition.
Both sides have suffered just a solitary loss to date, with those defeats coming after the final buzzer.
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In the Blues’ case, that was their opening round match against the Hurricanes where they held a 32-14 lead going into the final 10 minutes of the game, only to see the Wellingtonians nab three tries – including one in the final play of the game – to take home the spoils.
It was a similar story in the Crusaders’ loss to the Chiefs in Christchurch, with the visiting side banking 14 points in the final five minutes of the match to steal the game after the hooter.
Those games aside, the Blues have relatively comfortably dealt to the challenges of the Highlanders, Chiefs and Moana Pasifika, with only the Eden Park clash with the Chiefs a bit of a heart-stopper, with Bryn Gatland missing a long-distance penalty kick at the end of the match which would have stolen the victory from the home team. The Blues more than made up for that close win with a comfortable victory in the return fixture, smashing the Chiefs 25-0 in Hamilton last weekend.
Similarly, the Crusaders have never quite clicked into top gear but still looked relatively composed even when under pressure against the likes of the Hurricanes and Highlanders.
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While it feels like both teams have plenty of room to grow over the coming trans-Tasman clashes, Friday night’s fixture will set a marker in the sand for any further head-to-heads down the track.
“No, we haven’t quite billed it like that,” Crusaders coach Scott Robertson responded this week when asked whether the Crusaders were treating this match like a New Zealand final.
“We take it back and just make sure our preparation leads to a really good performance. We have our mindset for the week and we build off the back of that [and] there’s finals footy at the end of [the season].
“In a lot of ways, this is probably the crescendo to the end of the New Zealand league before we get on tour with the Aussies,” he admitted.
While the Blues haven’t recorded a single win in Christchurch since 2004, when the likes of Carlos Spencer, Joe Rokocoko and Justin Collins combined in the final passage of the game to score one of the greatest tries in Super Rugby history, ranging from one in-goal to the other, despite the Blues already holding a two-point lead.
Whether it’s by one, two or 14 points, the Blues won’t care how victory comes about on Good Friday if they can manage a rare scalp on Crusaders’ turf.
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….
76 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