The final that Super Rugby Pacific needs
It has been five long years since a Super Rugby final was played in a stadium worthy of what should be the competition’s marquee event.
The all-Kiwi showdown between the Blues and Crusaders will be played in front of a sell-out crowd at Eden Park, which will bring some much needed glory, buzz and attention to Super Rugby Pacific.
The Crusaders’ latest dynasty began in 2017 when they travelled to Johannesburg to play the Lions at Ellis Park in front of more than 61,000 fans, a record attendance for a Super Rugby fixture.
After that, Super Rugby’s final was played twice in a makeshift ground at a racing track hobbled together with temporary stands and scaffolding in 2018 and 2019.
With each country having to make do with a domestic-only versions of the competition in 2020 and 2021 due to the spread of the pandemic, there was no final in the inaugural Super Rugby Aotearoa two years ago.
However, the Kiwi-only league last year staged a final, which returned to Orangetheory Stadium at the Addington racetrack.
Without a modern arena to play in, it was not the spectacle that was deserved to crown their achievements, despite the Crusaders’ brilliant run on the field. As such, Super Rugby as a competition missed out as well.
In need of a massive boost in stature, the Blues-Crusaders final at Eden Park this Saturday will give Super Rugby a historic showdown in the competition’s history, pitting two generational 10s against each other.
Richie Mo’unga is an all-time great Super Rugby player. That much is already guaranteed. He is in the conversation as the competition’s best player of all-time.
The fleet-footed first-five helped secure three titles in a row behind what was essentially the All Blacks forward pack with dynamic playmaking.
Despite having the riches up front that laid the platform for success, the Crusaders could always count on Mo’unga to create something, slip through the line and conjure up points with magical plays.
On the way to those second and third Super Rugby titles in 2018 and 2019, Mo’unga helped eliminate Beauden Barrett’s Hurricanes in consecutive semi-finals.
In the 2018 final, Mo’unga’s fingerprints were all over the key moments. He set up the first try with a long ball to Seta Tamanivalu, while his line break from a kick return set-up the second to propel the Crusaders to a 20-6 half-time lead over the Lions en route to a 37-18 victory.
When the competition went internal in 2020, Mo’unga had no rivals. The 28-year-old was the competition’s runaway MVP, leading in just about every attacking stat you could dream of.
His five-year run as part of a dominant Crusaders outfit with three Super Rugby titles and two Super Rugby Aotearoa trophies is unprecedented.
If Mo’unga is instrumental in leading the Crusaders to the Super Rugby Pacific title over the Blues this weekend, it will be a monumental moment for the 32-test international, even after all he has achieved.
That’s because the Crusaders are on the downward trajectory of their apex, which was proven in a season where they endured more losses than usual and were undone by the Blues in a thrilling contest in Christchurch.
Mo’unga has lost much of the public adulation that came with his initial rise to the All Blacks after a string of subpar performances in the test arena. The Richie Mo’unga that turns it on in red-and-black has not been seen enough in just black.
A couple of great displays against the Wallabies and a pool stage showing against South Africa does little to outweigh the growing list of suspect ones.
The 2019 World Cup semi-final loss to England. Both 16-all draws in Wellington against the Springboks and Wallabies in ’19 and ’20, respectively. The historic first-up loss to Los Pumas in Sydney. The end-of-year tour tests against France and Ireland in ’21.
Mo’unga’s contribution to that list of defeats means the tide has turned back in Barrett’s favour as the preferred occupant of New Zealand’s No 10 jersey.
Barrett has accrued a glittering 101-test All Blacks career that is filled with match-winning and game-defining moments which, quite frankly, Mo’unga isn’t anywhere near replicating.
There is no comparison to be made. It’s not even David vs Goliath. It’s just Goliath. Barrett is a consistent big game player on the international stage, while Mo’unga hasn’t been, despite his Super Rugby success.
While Mo’unga has built into this Super Rugby Pacific season following a contract-enforced rest period, Barrett has had a rejuvenation at the Blues, rediscovering his top-end speed and lethal running game behind an all-star forward pack.
The 30-year-old has been out-and-out the most influential player in this year’s competition. Every major Blues victory has had Barrett’s influence when it comes to big scoring moments and big plays.
Barrett stands on the cusp of winning his second Super Rugby title after guiding the Hurricanes to a maiden crown in 2016 and, in doing so, he would become the first starting No 10 to win a Super Rugby title with multiple teams.
He is on fire and the Blues have proven themselves to be the best team in the competition, but few would rule out the Crusaders from denying them this weekend.
It wouldn’t be the first time that a South Island team has come north to rain on Barrett’s parade in a final.
That is what makes this final so intriguing, for both Barrett and Mo’unga as well as the Blues and Crusaders, respectively, after three years of waiting for a moment like this.
In 2020, the Blues-Crusaders showdown at Eden Park would have been spectacular, but lockdown restrictions robbed everyone of the final round fixture.
The Blues had almost pulled off a stunning upset in Christchurch earlier that season, and a return leg in Auckland was much-anticipated. Perhaps the most enticing aspect of that match was that Crusaders icon Dan Carter may have debuted for the Blues.
A year later, the buzz of Super Rugby Aotearoa’s first iteration had worn off a bit. Barrett was on sabbatical in Japan and the fixture was played so early in the season that Eden Park was barely half full.
Mo’unga and the Crusaders put on a show on that day, but the clash did not have any hype. The return clash in Christchurch was just as lopsided.
This year the teams played once, and it was the best game of the season by far as the Blues pulled off a slice of history with their first victory in Christchurch since 2004.
Now we have the sequel on the final day of the season, at the biggest stadium in the country, with the title on the line between two old rivals.
Barrett and Mo’unga will both be playing at 10 for their respective teams, two great players facing off in a meaningful fixture that will form an irreversible part of their Super Rugby stories.
The final that Super Rugby Pacific needs is here.
Comments on RugbyPass
The game was changing too much with teams trying to role the dice drawing fouls. Would be better if scrums and the adjudicating problems were resolved but this is a good immediate fix.
37 Go to commentsLike many here I am encouraged by this post. Our forwards are where the real rewards and improvements must come from. With a 50/50 pack against any opposition, our backs could ensure more than 50% of the games will be won. We need Valetini at 6 and Cale at 8 to make the most or a good tight 5, McWright will add to the effectiveness of the pack BUT must get a very good tight 5 out there first.
97 Go to commentsThe key point I think that is missing is that if Joseph wants to guarantee a Lions spot, he really has to play wing in his first year. He is easily going to nail down whatever he wants to do, but with just half a season, how much of a factor he proves to be in the Lions series could be dictated by this initial choice of playing position.
8 Go to commentsthe game was 2 weeks before the challenge cup final. I really don’t believe they needed to rest that many players.
1 Go to commentsI really feel like neither of the Vunipolas is given the respect they deserve. I would have liked to see both of them get a few more caps than they have gotten in the past couple of years, but unfortunately the fact that they both peaked young has meant that for a number of years they have been perceived as disappointments. When they are both retired, in the cold light of day they will be recognised as two of the best players of their generation of any nation.
2 Go to commentsthis generation of saracens players could produce some really incredible coaches. When Farrell retires he could walk into any premiership team as a defence, attack, or kicking coach. Itoje could make it as a defence or a lineout coach, and Jamie George as a lineout or scrum coach. The problem the Vunipolas are going to have is that its not clear what their coaching speciality would be. Neither are great in the set piece, and while they were good in attack and defence, they were never tactical masterminds. Perhaps contact skills would be their ideal brief? Mako perhaps could work in strength & conditioning, but Billy has a bit of a reputation for not taking that side of the game seriously.
2 Go to commentsA very good player.We are finally getting some balance in our team. Plummer..Heem ..Lam a solid..experienced combo who take the sensible options consistently. Clarke was a grt impact of the bench option until Lam moved to 13 to replace an injured Reiko. Cotter is doing a grt job building his team. .
1 Go to commentsSaturday was last straw. Terrible record in Premiership since Jan 23. Capitulation against Bath at home. There are 3 conclusions. Players aren't good enough. Coaching team aren't good enough or combination of both.
2 Go to commentsAs you say in your article Brett, the point was Hamish and his vanity - plain and simple. The crazy bit is that sua’ali’i has to be probably twice the player of mark N, no easy feat, just for RA to get their money's worth!?! And as you say, tahs aren't short of wingers, props on the other hand id like to see $1.6m spent on. I still shake my head at the absolute carry on in the media and comments section around the boon of getting sua’ali’i and the revenue it'd generate. It was all such hogwash imo and short sighted, real sugar hit stuff. And wasnt Waugh (and others) on the board at the time this money was spent? You say silver bullet, I'd say sugar hit but without the flavour.
8 Go to commentsNZR should play hard all a bit with some of these players and make them sign up to the next world cup. If they won’t, offer it to someone who will. Because what happens is the NH (especially France) swoop on a bunch of nz players coming off contract, weakening their depth, and nz scrambles less than 2 years out trying to get replacements up to speed.
1 Go to commentsNo thanks. Savea almost always leaves easy points out there and goes for the corner, no matter how many times it’s not working. He claimed he took “the learnings” from this when he kept making the same mistake against the Boks a few years ago. Then went out the very next week and did the same thing and SA snatched victory because of it. Years later he still does it, right up to and including the world cup final. Great player, not so great rugby nous.
10 Go to commentsIt certainly wasn't a rhetorical masterpiece coming from big E …. (just as a side remark: Eben is the better player, Siya by far the better talker - maybe that's why they don't seem to like each other very much) …. but could we please move on?
66 Go to commentsMan who wasn't there and hasn't held a conversation with those who were present weighs in on dead rubber debate and is presented as representative of the Irish Rugby Union’s spokesperson on subject he has no apparent knowledge of whatsoever.
66 Go to commentsanybody who bends at the waist when they tackle
4 Go to commentsThe evidence is not strong that this is necessary. Mounga choked on clutch kicks in the WRC final and lost the match by not performing his core goal kicking role to the level required. He also choked in the Semi final against England and was targeted as the weak point in the defence allowing them to score. Not a test great frankly. Why bend the rules for a player that is competent but not brilliant at test level?
11 Go to commentsDear Robbie, Please return to the Crusaders next season. Sincerely, Scott
1 Go to commentsDid the big E call the Irish the ‘White Can’ts’? That would’ve been good
66 Go to commentsDalton Papalii will be lucky to be selected on the Matchday 23. Ardie Savea, Ethan Blackadder, Luke Jacobson, and Peter Lauki are all as good or better openside flankers
10 Go to commentsScott Barrett is a lock and they have a much longer shelf life than a loose forward. Far more likely that Barrett will still demand a starting position based on performance at age 33 at RWC 2027 than Savea, whose explosive athleticism will have declined and he will in all likelihood have been surpassed by Hoskins Sotutu, Wallace Siti, Peter Lauki and Brayden Iose.
10 Go to commentsExtremely frustrating to get yet more speculation over whether or not Eben actually counted 12 players or not, but honestly big respect to McCloskey for keeping it classy and not pointing out Etzebeth’s hypocrisy. The Irish are a popular team outside of Ireland because they do their talking on the pitch, and its honestly a PR masterclass that they’re keeping it that way following Etzebeth’s provocation.
66 Go to comments