All you need to know: Super Rugby Pacific Final

All you need to know ahead of the Super Rugby Pacific final between the Chiefs and Crusaders at FMG Stadium in Hamilton (kickoff at 7.05pm).

After 17 weeks Super Rugby Pacific has produced a final that was anticipated from the opening weeks of the season, between the top-ranked Chiefs and the defending champion Crusaders.

The season has had its twists and turns and both teams have had ups and downs but their progress towards Saturday’s final has seemed inexorable.

Once again it is an all-New Zealand final, which might be enough to ramp up tension between the transtasman rivals who haven’t been able for some time to see eye to eye on Super Rugby and its future.

The final also will have its sub-plots, notably that it will be Scott Robertson’s last match in charge of the Crusaders before he steps down in anticipation of becoming the All Blacks’ head coach after this year’s World Cup.

Robertson became Crusaders coach in 2017 after they had gone eight years without a title and has led them to championships in every season since, becoming the most decorated head coach in the tournament’s history. He needs one more win to sign off in style while the Chiefs are seeking their first title in 10 years.

Robertson’s over-sized personality has been a feature of his era as Crusaders coach: his heart-on-sleeve reactions and expressions in the coaches’ box during matches, to his break dancing celebrations of championship victories.

He faced the semifinal against the Blues, knowing it might be his last match in charge of the 11-time champions. But the Crusaders scored two early tries and led 15-0 after 11 minutes, allowing Robertson to relax and enjoy his last match in front of the Crusaders’ home crowd in Christchurch.

“I actually was a little bit nervous beforehand,” Robertson said. “Potentially your final game.

“It’s a final, you don’t always get a fairy tale ending. I was a little bit nervous but after the first 20 I was like ‘oh, here we go. We’re on’.”

Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan wasn’t able to breathe easy until the 77th minute when lock Brodie Retallick scored the only try of their semifinal against the Brumbies and made their win certain.

There were only penalties in the match until that moment: the Chiefs led 6-3 at halftime and 12-6 before Retallick’s try. The match was played in wet and slippery conditions and saw massive defensive efforts from both sides.

Having watched the Crusaders crush the Blues before his team’s semi, McMillan already had began to devise a plan with his assistants to cope with the Crusaders if the Chiefs reached the final.

Then, he said, he “just sat back and hoped like hell that we were going to actually get a chance to put it into place.

“We’ve had two tough games [against the Reds and Brumbies] and I’d be lying if I sat here and said I wouldn’t have loved it to have been a little bit easier on my heart.

“But we’re just getting the job done and at this stage of the season there’s no bonus points. It’s irrelevant how big the scoreline is, it’s just about being at the right end of that scoreline at the end of the game.”

The Crusaders are 11-4 in Super Rugby finals the Chiefs 2-2, including the 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa final.

Teams
Chiefs: Shaun Stevenson, Emoni Narawa, Alex Nankivell, Anton Lienert-Brown, Etene Nanai-Seturo, Damian McKenzie, Brad Weber (co-capt), Luke Jacobson, Sam Cane (co-capt), Pita Gus Sowakula, Tupou Vaa’i, Brodie Retallick, George Dyer, Samisoni Taukei’aho, Aidan Ross. Reserves: Tyrone Thompson, Ollie Norris, John Ryan, Naitoa Ah Kuoi, Samipeni Finau, Cortez Ratima, Josh Ioane, Rameka Poihipi.

Crusaders: Will Jordan, Dallas McLeod, Braydon Ennor, Jack Goodhue, Leicester Fainga’anuku, Richie Mo’unga, Mitch Drummond, Christian Lio-Willie, Tom Christie, Sione Havili Talitui, Sam Whitelock, Scott Barrett (capt), Oli Jager, Codie Taylor, Tamaiti Williams. Reserves: George Bell, Kershawl Sykes-Martin, Reuben O’Neill, Quinten Strange, Dom Gardiner, Willi Heinz, Fergus Burke, Chay Fihaki.

Odds
Chiefs by 13 and over $5.75

Chiefs by 12 and under $2.50

Crusaders by 12 and under $2.50

Crusaders by 13 and over $5.75

Draw $15

Match officials
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe. Assistant referees: Angus Garner, Nic Berry. TMO: Brendon Pickerill

Last five meetings
April 29, Chiefs 34 Crusaders 24, Hamilton

February 24, Chiefs 31 Crusaders 10, Christchurch

June 10 2022, Crusaders 20 Chiefs 7, Christchurch

March 26, 2022, Crusaders 34 Chiefs 19, Hamilton

March 12 2022, Chiefs 24 Crusaders 21, Christchurch

Weather
Saturday is looking to be a wet one in Hamilton. According to WeatherWatch, as of 5am Friday, there is a 49 percent chance of rain at kickoff, with plenty of rainfall throughout the day. Looking at a temperature of around 13 at kickoff along with fairly breezy Easterly wins.

Catching the action
The Alternative Commentary Collective’s Matt Heath and Manaia Stewart will be calling the game on Sky Sport 9 and free on iHeart Radio.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission