They've done it again! Crusaders win Super Rugby final in thriller

By Christopher Reive

The curtain has come down on an era of Crusaders dominance.

Missing key players through injury – someone new joining the casualty ward seemingly every week – and having to defend their title on enemy soil, coach Scott Robertson’s last season at the helm of the Crusaders ended in the same fashion as the six prior – with a Super Rugby title in hand.

A 25-20 win over the Chiefs in Hamilton was the perfect send off for several members of the Crusaders coaching and playing group as a new outfit will look to fill their sizeable boots in 2024.

Earlier in the week, Chiefs co-captain Sam Cane mentioned there was every chance the game would come down to a couple of big moments. He was proven right; his 72nd-minute yellow card one moment that opened the door for the Crusaders.

The Chiefs struggled against referee Ben O’Keeffe’s whistle all evening, ending the game on the wrong side of a 14-7 penalty count and losing three players to the sin bin.

The first came just nine minutes into the match when Anton Lienert-Brown took a seat for a face-to-face tackle on Dallas McLeod. McLeod did not return to the field following a head injury assessment; a familiar story for the Crusaders this year.

After being under sustained pressure for much of the opening 20 minutes but limiting the Crusaders to just a Richie Mo’unga penalty, it was Luke Jacobson who sparked something for the Chiefs.

The No 8 crunched Will Jordan as the Crusaders fullback tried to sell a dummy, not only making a dominant tackle but stripping the ball in the process. It set the Chiefs on the right path and eventually a beautiful pass from Alex Nankivell found Shaun Stevenson at pace, and the Chiefs fullback did the rest.

But the Crusaders didn’t blink. The visitors went right back to work plugging away at the Chiefs defence, getting more use of the ball under penalty advantage before Jacobson was sent to the sin bin for the Chiefs growing penalty count.

The Crusaders are masters at making the most of any advantage given to them, and while they couldn’t break the Chiefs under the first yellow card, they made an example of them this time. First, they scored a familiar try to Codie Taylor, scoring from the back of a lineout drive, before another big moment swung the game in their favour.

An attempted long pass from Jack Goodhue went at least two metres forward but was left uncalled by the referee and his assistant who was directly in line with the play. Rather than the Chiefs getting a chance to relieve the pressure from a set piece, they did get the ball but were forced to scramble to get it into touch, just inside their own territory. The Crusaders then stretched the weakened Chiefs’ defensive line, taking the lead through a Mo’unga try after some brilliant ball running from Jordan.

The Crusaders ended the half leading 15-10 and on the right side of a 9-2 penalty count.

But that lead lasted just four minutes into the second half; Stevenson this time playing facilitator for Emoni Narawa to cross out wide.

The Chiefs have made a habit of being able to swing their pendulum in their favour late in games this season, and when a McKenzie penalty gave them a five-point lead, it began to feel like the hosts had kicked into another gear.

But again, the Crusaders didn’t blink. A team who have proven year after year that they know how to win the big games, they took what the Chiefs threw at them and put their heads down when they had possession.

Trailing by five points, the Crusaders forced the Chiefs to stay disciplined. This was telling when they decided to play one-off the ruck as soon as they got near the Chiefs 22 with less than 20 minutes to play. They got the penalty they had played for, and after a couple of thwarted efforts under ensuing penalty advantages, they again got a shot with a numbers advantage when Cane was sent to the sin bin.

Taylor went over for his second try, and Mo’unga’s conversion pushed them ahead with six minutes on the clock. A last-minute Mo’unga penalty put the icing on the cake, with the Crusaders dynasty adding another piece of silverware to the cabinet.

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