The All Blacks know what to expect from the Springboks in their much anticipated two Tests in New Zealand in September.
Yesterday’s Super Rugby Pacific final between the Crusaders and Chiefs in Christchurch was a statement from the Kiwis to the Springboks of what they can expect.
It is going to be colossal when the two southern hemisphere giants clash. That first scrum. That first collision. That first big aerial contest.
HUGE.
That first tackle. The double tackle.
The intensity of the final in Christchurch is exactly what we are going to see in September at Eden Park in Auckland.
Chiefs red-hot
The Chiefs have been red-hot all competition. They won comfortably in Christchurch in the league phase. They are a team with the best record against the Crusaders in Christchurch, having won six from 15.
But, to speak Kiwi, these Crusaders know “Finals Footie”.
Their win, to claim their 13th Super Rugby title since the inception of Super Rugby in 1996, was all “Finals Footie”.
This was Richie McCaw/Dan Carter-type Crusaders.
There was nothing Basketball/Barbarians-style from these Crusaders. There was just Test-match intensity, grunt, grit, defiance and belief. This was a match about redemption for the men from the south island.
The Crusaders, in 1996, finished last in Super Rugby. It was the era of the Auckland Blues, who won the title in 1996 and 1997. They were the All Blacks in another coloured jersey.
In 1998 the Crusaders went to Eden Park and won Super Rugby. Ironically, a Blues player on loan, winger James Kerr, scored the winning try.
Crusaders a dynasty
Thereafter, the Crusaders have been a dynasty. They seldom miss play-offs and they are the only club in Super Rugby history to win a final away from home in New Zealand, in Australia, when they beat the Brumbies in Canberra, and the most historic win, when they beat the Lions in Johannesburg.
They know how to win finals. They are the Springboks of World Cup rugby. The Boks have played in four finals and never lost. The Crusaders have won 13 finals.
A week ago, they defeated the defending champions, the Blues, with a 40-plus phase final five-minute defensive effort to win the semifinals. A week later, they were as desperate on defence and so clinical in that defence.
The Crusaders’ big-name All Blacks stood tallest.
Will Jordan, the fullback with pace and a try-scoring strike rate better than anyone in the history of club or Test rugby, was my player of the game in the second half, and it had nothing to do with try-scoring. It was his ability to create pressure with his kick and chase game, his aerial superiority when a kick went up and he chased, and the way he handled every bomb that rained on him.
The Chiefs scored the most points in the second half in the league stages. They scored 30% more than the Crusaders and conceded 30% less.
But the league is a means to the final. The final is only experienced in the final and that is where the likes of All Blacks captain and lock Scott Barrett and All Blacks centre and Crusaders captain David Havilli were Generals in their thinking and frontliners in their desire to get stuck in.
Rejuvenated beast is back
Veteran All Blacks hooker Cody Taylor is a rejuvenated beast, comfortably back in the Malcolm Marx and Dan Sheehan category, and tighthead prop Fletcher Newell played all 82 minutes.
The Crusaders had not lost a play-off match in Christchurch in 31 starts. Make that 32 on the trot. This was particularly good because these Crusaders missed the play-offs last season and were the worst performing of the five New Zealand clubs.
Coach Rob Penny was spared the axe, and yesterday he thanked his charitable employers with a Super Rugby title.
The Crusaders, in the second half, dominated possession 65%-35% and territory 67%-33%. They played the game in the right areas, retained ruck possession for a 99% return, and produced a finals performance as physically bruising as it was intellectually imposing.
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