Scotty Stevenson: The Super Rugby Final Has Everything It Needs, But Not What It Deserves
The two best teams in Super Rugby will contest the competition’s climactic match this weekend. It will be a repeat of last year’s final, with the Crusaders and Lions again taking centre stage for the ultimate decider. The former crushed the Hurricanes on the weekend, the latter murdered the Waratahs. There is no doubt both deserve to be there, no matter what you may think about Super Rugby’s complex format.
They are the exemplars of Super Rugby’s marketing claim. They play high tempo rugby, they score buckets of tries, they play the game on the hop, and show a ruthless streak when capitalising on mistakes. They can come from behind, or they can strangle the life out of opposition teams. They have playmakers, and tough men, and mercurial talents in key positions. They play with purpose and they play with style – style that is often upstaged by their penchant for set piece dominance.
The Crusaders have a pack of international stars, all of whom have been forged in the fire of that franchise. The Lions have a front five of brutal elegance and a loose forward trio led by Kwagga Smith, a man who knows nothing about self-preservation and everything about the ghosts of finals past. They have Malcolm Marx, too. Marx is surely in a list of the most impressive tight forwards on the planet right now.
This final has endless storylines: the Lions will come to Christchurch attempting to do what the Crusaders did last year – cross the Indian Ocean and win the title. The Crusaders are the only team to have achieved that feat. The Lions are now in their third consecutive final. Will it be third time lucky for them? The Crusaders are aiming to win consecutive titles for the first time since 2006, when Jade Stadium was a cloud and no one saw the game. Will Kwagga Smith ever be able to bury the demons?
There is so much to savour about this final that it seems a pity to contemplate the one thing it won’t have. You see, the thing this final deserves is a final’s atmosphere, and that is the one thing Super Rugby just can’t get right.
The reality of this competition is games don’t have away fans. Away fans are the yin to the yang, the sauce on the side, the spicy marinade on the leg of lamb. They are the cheers in all the wrong places, the boos at inopportune moments, the devil on the referee’s shoulder. They are the noise that fills the silence and the nature that abhors a vacuum. They are as integral to a game of any significance as an overpriced beer and a box of soggy fries.
There have been criticisms of the crowds in the first two weeks of the Super Rugby playoffs, but those criticisms are borne of sadness not antipathy. Those of us who travel the country and know the teams behind the teams understand how hard they work to market their home matches to the faithful. But faith only gets you so far. Eventually you need to witness a sign to restore your belief. That sign is the trolling banner, the opposition scarf, the fist-pump from the lady in row 12 when your team concedes a penalty.
Tribalism, that half-arsed concept that passes for effective marketing for most sporting teams, only works when your tribe is actually threatened by something other than the slow onslaught of apathy. Away fans are the clear and present danger, the call to arms, the invading horde that must be repelled. Hell, even in the Flavian Amphitheatre the fans still cheered for the Christians before they were torn to shreds by the beasts. They were the original away fans. They are the architects of atmosphere, as New Zealand fans discover once every 12 years when the other Lions come to town with 30,000 fans in tow.
This Super Rugby final will not have this. Neither did last year’s final, or the year before that. A contest played across five time zones, spanning the southern hemisphere will likely never have this, and that is a crying shame. The English Premiership loves away fans, as does the six nations, the Pro 14 and the Champions Cup. Proximity allows for atmosphere. In New Zealand, even a local derby is hardly local, as witnessed by the lack of Hurricanes’ supporters in the stands at AMI Stadium on the weekend. And let’s not even contemplate how many Waratahs fans just decided on a whim to fly to Johannesburg for the weekend.
Perhaps it’s just reality but if so, it’s a sad one. I salute every fan who turns out to watch a game – we should focus more on the ones that make the effort rather than the ones who don’t – and I sure as hell hope every seat is taken for this weekend’s final at AMI Stadium. These teams deserve a packed house, this game deserves a packed house. It may not be ideal that they’ll all be cheering for the same team, but I’ll take a one-eyed full house over a half-filled stadium any day of the week.
For a final that has everything it needs, I hope it gets the crowd it deserves.
Comments on RugbyPass
Well done Baby Boks we will take the Draw. No 9 senseless long passes in those conditions. let’s move on and hope for some good weather
3 Go to commentsHow did it end a draw. South Africa didn’t score any points as far as I can see
3 Go to commentsNo doubt this will be a fantastic occasion and I plan to be there, but I think the bean counters have won out over the rugby brains. In my opinion, it is foolhardy to give the Black Ferns the experience of playing in front of 60,000+ at Twickenham a year before they might be playing there in a World Cup Final. Better to play France at Twickenham and Black Ferns at Kingsholm. The difference in takings would be miniscule.
1 Go to commentsDom kant
193 Go to commentsBen is a little incel desperately trying to stir the pot and stay relevant. We used to get mad at his articles. Now we just feel sorry for him
193 Go to commentsPerhaps we may need to put an asterisk on NZ’s ‘87 WC win since the Boks weren’t there. You know, just as a reminder. Poor Ben Smith. Go cry somewhere else.
193 Go to commentsNz should have won. I didn't watch the game, but the ref was at fault and the bounce of the ball and the Bokke used the Bomb squad and the Bokke slow the game down and the Bokke scrum. They should remove the scrum. The Bokke are to strong. Not fair. Nz should have won
2 Go to commentsThanks for a much more balanced piece Ned and not that BS that Bin Smuth just posted a short while ago. read this article and then Bin Smuth’s and tell me there isn’t a huge difference🙄
2 Go to commentsWere the Baby Boks part of this game or did the Baby Blacks play themselves?🤔 That man Bin Smuth once again does a little write-up on the game and it is like 95% about the Baby Blacks🤣 Glad he ends off with the Baby Blacks were actually in cruise control for most of the game and weren’t actually playing for the win WTF🤣🤣 Maybe he was expecting the Baby Blacks to run rampant….
3 Go to commentsOne does not expect anything more from Ben Smith who epitomises the worst of New Zealand media arrogance and an inability to balance what he has to say about any team that beats the All Blacks. His reference to context is pathetically thin. He does not comment that Frizell deserved a red card given his blatant manipulation of his body to ensure that he could drop his body weight onto Mbonambi’s lower leg. No mention of the ball lost forward before the All Black’s try (lost in-field of the 5 metre line and gathered beyond). The All Black commitment and effort was superb and there was little in it. Given the Springbok passage to the final and the loss of their hooker in the first three minutes, their resolve and capacity to win their fourth final out of eight attempts (not three out of ten) deserves the praise that has been forthcoming from media around the world, worth reading and listening to. Ben should join his “pundit” friends on TV - he would fit in well. This sort of article reduces any credibility Rugby Pass has ever had. Why persist with this sort of nonsense? The man does his country and a rugby blog a disservice.
193 Go to commentsEtzebeth went on to say: “I would never dream of saying that systems stay in place following a change in captain. To say that would be deeply, deeply, disrespectful of Siya. A while back an Irish person told me they would be fine without Sexton, so I’m just responding to that.”
3 Go to commentsClose games are what we want to see…. What a match it was…. I am sure that everyone was drained by the end of it. The reality of it all there has to be a winner and a loser. The fact that we still talking about it is almost 6 months to the day Rugby is the winner.. Asante sana… Here is to 2027 and what it will bring out.
193 Go to commentsIt’s going to be a good game. COYQ
1 Go to comments“Shock”, the guy was casually saying he was just slightly surprised. Nowadays if you say anything it gets taken completely out of context. Calm down everyone.
156 Go to commentsAll I can say after reading this bitter, sour, sad piece is… Thank you very much! This will be read in the change room just before kick off on 31 August…
193 Go to commentsLook, we know contradicting opinions and wacky comments bring readers and clicks, so well done to RP for allowing always-wrong-Ben to say something here. However RP needs to put a disclaimer next to his comments for their own credibility. NZ was and is incapable of acknowledging their opp beating them. They refused so with Ire and with Arg in 2022 and also the Boks in 2023 x 2. Nothing Ben says here holds water, NZ attacked backwards, except when Kolisi and Kolbe was off And cyncialy took out Bongi, we played without lineouts for 75mins. Kolisi and Kurt-Lee almost scored twice. Thats 3 vs 2 for Boks, but the Boks opportunities was legal. Boks should have been 16-3 up by half time. Tacticaly the Boks attacked better defended better scrummed better (without a hooker) kicked better and crossed the whitewash more times. Boks beat Fr Eng Nz to win in 23, comeon give some credit at least. Even Federer Verstappen NY Mets, Mamoa, was able to see a great human sport achievement by the Boks and their DNA Boks #RWC27 !🏉
193 Go to commentsForget the 85kg bit, that can become something else. However I do like the one off test on ANZAC day idea. SR plays Fri/ Sat, test players travel Sunday and the squads have the full week together before playing Saturday. Rest of SR has a week off. Either involve women's teams in same location or in the other country and rotate annually. Herbert is right in that change is needed.
3 Go to commentsI’ve read loads of nonsense before but this article takes the cake. Or perhaps someone changed the date for April Fool's Day.
3 Go to commentsReally Rugbypass? Ben Smith I think you forgot what the Springboks did to the All Blacks at Twickenham 8 weeks earlier? Springboks 35 All Blacks 7. There is alot of ifs and buts in your article. The All Blacks threw the sink at the Springboks and unfortunately they were not good enough regardless if they played with 14 men or not. It was the Springboks who forced the All Blacks to make mistakes! Sorry but not Sorry the Springboks is the best ever Rugby World Cup Nation in the world. 4 Cups baby!
193 Go to commentsYou just backed the Boks with that fantastic review! Well done! Have some cake!
193 Go to comments