The two teams that can challenge the Crusaders for the 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa title
After four years of successive titles, it’s unsurprising to again see the Crusaders rank as firm favourites to claim the 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa title on the eve of the competition’s kick-off.
Under the guidance of head coach Scott Robertson, the Christchurch franchise are in the midst of a golden era as they eye a fifth consecutive crown to add to their exhaustive honours list.
The prospect of a sixth title on the bounce is also on the radar should they do the double in both Super Rugby Aotearoa and Super Rugby Trans-Tasman, but the reigning Kiwi champions won’t be getting ahead of themselves.
With the season not yet underway, the Crusaders still have to embark on eight straight New Zealand derbies before they can lock away any silverware, and each of those matches will be tough encounters, as is always the case with Kiwi clashes.
So, while the Crusaders’ championship record in recent years is unblemished, the Super Rugby Aotearoa title is by no means a foregone conclusion at this early stage of the year.
Robertson’s squad will understand the competition is certainly not a one-horse race, with each of the other four franchises posing their own respective threats to the Crusaders’ dynasty.
There are two teams in particular that stand front and centre in the collective bid to knock the Crusaders off their perch, according to recently-retired Blues hooker James Parsons and Crusaders halfback Bryn Hall.
Speaking on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod, Parsons, who quit from all forms of rugby last month, said his former side, who he played 115 times for between 2012 and 2020, are legitimate contenders to claim their first Super Rugby title since 2003.
After over a decade-and-a-half of underperformance, the three-time champions enjoyed a resurgent campaign last year, sitting in fourth spot at the time of Super Rugby’s suspension in March before finishing runners-up in Super Rugby Aotearoa.
Their rejuvenation coincided with the high-profile acquisition of All Blacks star Beauden Barrett, but the two-time World Rugby Player of the Year is unavailable this year due to his sabbatical in Japan.
However, Parsons suggested the Blues have enough depth across the board to cope without Barrett – and recently-retired All Blacks great Dan Carter – this year, putting them in good stead to go one place better than their 2020 campaign.
“I genuinely do think the Blues because it’s another year of experience under some guidance of someone like Beaudy and Dan in that environment, and now a lot of ownership and reins and control is given to these guys to step up and fill that void,” Parsons told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod of who he sees as the biggest threat to the Crusaders.
As the new Super Rugby Aotearoa season looms large on the horizon, a former All Black has named a 'Hype XV' made up of players to take note of over the coming weeks. #SuperRugbyAotearoa https://t.co/nwGOic1rFx
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The two-test hooker added he was impressed by what he had seen from the Auckland franchise in their pre-season outings, noting that their performances reflected the goals they have set for themselves for the season ahead.
“I felt, from what I saw on the weekend, and I haven’t been in with the squad at all, you could see that there’s a genuine expectation on themselves to step up and continue that ball rolling,” he said.
“From what you saw from the big guys that haven’t had a lot of pre-season, like Rieko [Ioane], I just thought he was exceptional.
“His line speed, defensively, his willingness to set up his teammates, his work rate off the ball – when you’ve got a leader like that delivering in a pre-season game with no points on the board, others are going to follow.
“I think that’s the most exciting thing for me, and you’ve got a guy like Otere [Black] who’s got that balance of attack, you’ve got competition at No. 9 between Finlay Christie, Sam Nock and Jonathan Ruru, who was exceptional on the weekend, in key positions.
“You’ve got a forward pack that is coached by Tom Coventry that are continuing to just want to roll their sleeves up. You’ve got a front three that are fighting for positions. I thought both Luteru Tolai and Kurt Eklund were exceptional on the weekend.
“You’ve got Nepo [Laulala] and Ofa [Tuungafasi] fighting out for tighthead. You’ve got two All Blacks [Karl Tu’inukuafe and Alex Hodgman] fighting it out for loosehead.
“You’ve got a skipper in Patty [Patrick Tuipulotu], you’ve got Tom Robinson, you’ve got Dalton Papalii, you’ve got Blake Gibson, you’ve got Hoskins [Sotutu], you’ve got Akira [Ioane]. You’ve got selection dilemmas. That’s depth and selection dilemmas.”
Parsons said that breadth of depth will serve the Blues well throughout the season when injuries inevitably strike, and it will also provide competition for places in the match day squad for those who are fit and ready to play.
“What the Crusaders have done so well in the past is when they’ve had an injury, there’s been another guy to step up, or when they’ve had their fit, full squad, competition is created and it’s created an edge at training, and that edge is continued on to the game.
With their 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa campaign set for kick-off this Friday, the Highlanders are faced with a significant selection dilemma most squads would love to have.https://t.co/9gh6Ri8Vg1
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“They’ve almost had a harder training on Thursday than the game they’ve faced on the weekend, and that’s the edge that I feel that is creating in that Blues environment at the moment.
“I don’t want to put pressure on them, because I know that they’re already creating that pressure themselves, but I genuinely think they’re building a hard work ethic, and tough, tough underbelly and a willingness to go above and beyond for their teammate.”
Hall, meanwhile, agreed with Parsons’ assertion that the Blues loom as key challengers to deny his side yet another title, but the 29-year-old was similarly impressed with the recruitment efforts made by the Highlanders over the off-season.
The Dunedin franchise endured a below-par campaign last year, picking up just one win from five matches prior to Super Rugby’s cancellation and finishing in fourth place in Super Rugby Aotearoa.
That forced the side to part ways with head coach Aaron Mauger, who has since been replaced by Tony Brown, an assistant to Mauger in 2020 and back for his second stint in the top job at the club.
Since his appointment, the former Highlanders first-five has recruited strongly, bringing in a raft of top names into the squad as they look to restore their status as one of the New Zealand’s top sides.
Hall said locking in Brown as head coach was a vital piece of business for the Highlanders, not only because of the the star power he has brought with him, but also because of the tactics he is expected to implement.
“The Highlanders have done really well in their recruiting with Tony Brown, and I think, with Tony Brown being involved again, kicking on the full is going to be great for them, bringing back their real Highlanders mindset,” Hall told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
“Even though he was in the environment last year, I think him being able to be the head coach will be massive for them.
“The players that they’ve signed, with the likes of, in their backline, Fetuli Paea – who was really good for us here – he’s going to have more growth and he’s going to have more opportunities. I see him very similar to Malakai Fekitoa, actually.
The Chiefs have confirmed halfback Brad Weber will join All Blacks captain Sam Cane as co-captain of the Chiefs for 2021.https://t.co/knJs2hur9k
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 22, 2021
“Then Solomon Alaimalo, who is a great signing for their back three. They had a lot of young guys there last year, and probably lacked that experience and Solly has had a lot of time at the Chiefs and, not too long ago, he was knocking on the door of the All Blacks.
“He’ll get another chance to have a great opportunity in an environment where he’ll be playing a lot of footy.
“I think they’ve just signed some really good, key, experienced players like Josh Hohneck, who’s come back, and Bryn Evans, who will really add that experience in that group.
“Let’s talk about Liam Squire, who, we know in New Zealand rugby, is more of a talisman for them who sets the tone physically and just brings more depth into that loose forward trio, who are going to be fantastic with his addition.
“You’ve got Dillon Hunt who left, but then you’ve got Billy Harmon. Billy Harmon’s gone down there as well, who’s again seeking an opportunity and he’s gone down to a fresher role.
“He was with us the last three years and is a guy who can definitely play at Super Rugby level.”
Hall added that while he doesn’t expect the Highlanders to challenge for the Super Rugby Aotearoa title as strongly as the Blues this year, the foundations are in place for a successful future – especially with one key youngster in their ranks.
“One guy that I’ve also had a look around is [Folau] Fakatava and his involvement that he’s been having off the bench,” Hall said.
“He’ll keep Nuggy [Aaron Smith] honest, but you look at how he played during the Mitre 10 Cup and his game management and how much he grew in the last 12 months, so he’ll be massive for them coming off the bench.
“Personally, I know how hard it is to defend him when he’s starting, but coming off the bench when players are tired, he’s one guy that I’m definitely going to be looking forward to seeing for the Highlanders this year.”
This Highlanders and Crusaders will kick-off the 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa season when they play each other at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Friday.
Listen to the latest episode of the Aotearoa Rugby Pod below:
Comments on RugbyPass
Firstly the foul on Bongi was a planned move just like the NZ master plan with Bryce Lawrence you kiwis are filthy fux perhaps try to play a cleaner game next time I doubt that’s possible tho but don’t worry world rugby is on yr side they trying to take away all the BOKS strengths to help all you weakling as Jeremy Clarkson would say LA OO ZA ERR..🤣
99 Go to commentsAbsolutely spot on Ben. I certainly wouldn't gloat over a win like that. Frustrating as it is it's done and dusted and history will forever show the result.
99 Go to commentsHo hum.
99 Go to commentsNo question they were the better team. But that is the beauty of sport isn’t it!
99 Go to commentsEveryone is into Hurling in Ireland according to Porter, but only 11 of Ireland's 32 counties enter a team into the national competition. Same old blarney.
1 Go to commentsLet’s be honest. The draw and scheduling in the World Cup was a joke but South Africa found a way after having to go the hard (nearly impossible) way to the Cup Final via France and England. NZ had a hard game against France (lost) and had 5 weeks to prepare for the Quarter, 3 weeks knowing it was Ireland. NZ theerfore had to win one big game against an Irish team who played SA and then Scotland 7 days before. They won and it was de facto a semi final because they were playing a relatively weak Argentina team and it was a walk over. In the final a very rested NZ team was playing a very tired SA team and still lost. They couldn’t score more than 11 points. Put another way SA had to find a way to win while tired and they achieved that. NZ should thank their lucky stars that they fixed the scheduling in 2015 otherwise they would be dealing with a Bok treble.
99 Go to commentsPerhaps if Bongi wasn’t targeted and removed from the game in the first 3 minutes it would have been quite a different game. Maybe if NZ also faced the same competition the Boks faced to their win NZ would have looked quite different. The final score shows who outplayed who.
99 Go to commentsRubbish article! Abuladze played most of Exeters matches when fit. He got injured against Glasgow a while ago and is out for the rest of the season, thats why he hasnt played for Exeter and Georgia recently. Do some proper research next time!
1 Go to commentsGotta love it when kids throw their toys out the pram and can’t hack it with the grown ups debate. Here’s looking at you turlough! 😉🤣
148 Go to commentsThey lost the game period move on
99 Go to commentsSpringboks won! Stop winging. You can change the game however much you and your rugby colonizing IRB want to and the Springboks will win you at that too. Your mind is colonized my friend get a life
99 Go to commentsBen, nobody gets fooled anymore by selective and biased data to support an hypothesis. Games are decided on such small margins these days that you win some and lose some, and dominance is a thing of the rugby past. Look at the RWC circle of fortune…. Ireland beats SA who beat France who beat NZ who beat Ireland. And so it goes on. Match officials help to eliminate real indiscretions. If they had been with us years before, no doubt results would have been different. Remember Andy Haden’s dive from a lineout in 1978 for which a match-wining penalty was awarded? Wales should have beaten the ABs that day. They took the loss like the gentlemen they were.
99 Go to commentsWith all the analysis and how good the all blacks were.The fundamental mistake with the ABs is that this is a test match and not an exhibition.There is no better team(country) in world rugby than the Boks that knows how to win a test match(we are post masters at this).We know our rules, we have the discipline, we tackle like beasts, we take our points and we never give up.I now have educated the ABs supporters(at least say thank you).Please stop “bitching” , accept what the outcome is and move along swiftly.
99 Go to commentsAnd they came from behind to win two big games before the final. No one can say what would have happened. Had the boks gone behind the game plan changes and the result may changes. Ifs and ands are irrelevant. The boks won. Neutral critics enjoyed the games they played. Its not a popularity contest. Get over it and move on.
99 Go to commentsI'm happy for the people of SA to get a second WC. And I mean that. I was very disappointed with this man's “stand on the hand” incident with Josh Van Der Flyer (Ireland). Ireland's downfall in the last WC was they did not rotate their first 15 as the head coach probably should have. That said, I'm happy for SA and genuinely hope it lifts the mood in their country. Ireland did beat them in the first match of the tournament. And before the trolls start trolling ….. please don't bother. Etzbeth said recently that the Irish players said after the match “see you in the final”…..this was actually wishing the SA team the best of luck in the rest, the Irish team were not dismissing the AB’s. This is what Etzbeth was implying. But he was wrong. I no longer live in Ireland. But I hope to see them lift that cup before I pass. Anyway, congratulations SA. 👍
12 Go to commentsMore bloody click bait. Dan Carter has said absolutely nothing. As he should do. Poor journalism again from a site that should know better
9 Go to commentsOh god please help these loosers get over it!!!! You lost. Doesn't matter how many times you dummies are gonna analyse the game, you still lost and we are still Rygby World Champions….get over it, you lost.
99 Go to commentsThe next Willie le Roux. SA are made not to use him.
3 Go to commentsDan has always been as controversial as tea with milk so we were never going to get any definitive answer. So DMac for the win.
9 Go to commentsGoodness. When are the All Blacks and New Zealand commentators going to stop complaining about how they could have won and just try to win next time 😂. In South Africa if you lose you get up and try again. Get over it.
99 Go to comments