Super Rugby Pacific’s valiant effort to dress up the 2026 competition, to convince fans and viewers that a new leaf had been turned, has all come to naught.
Yes, the early rounds were captivating, with match after match delivering positive, enjoyable rugby amongst a slew of close, exciting finishes. And every team has, at one time or another, provided their fans with genuine highs. Not to mention the dreaded promise of better things to come next year.
Yet here we are once again; second, third, fourth verse … same as the first.
The Crusaders and Chiefs are left to battle it out on Saturday for the title, while Australian players are drafted like sheep into pens; left side destined for ‘mad Monday’, right side into a Wallabies train-on squad for a chance to take on the Lions.
As the saying credited to Baseball’s Yogi Berra goes, it’s déjà vu all over again.
Nothing more starkly illustrates Super Rugby’s eternal conundrum than the finalists; and, really, who can argue with that? If the competition is to retain any credibility, if the elite game in the southern hemisphere is to maintain pace with the juggernauts in the north, then not only does the cream need to rise to the top, we need to celebrate when it does.
Handing out championship titles is not the same as dishing out participation or ‘most improved’ medals. Titles are meant to be earned. They are a record of permanence. A reward for excellence.
I have no idea if it will be the Crusaders or the Chiefs who emerge on top, but in one sense it doesn’t matter. Both sides fit the bill. All signs point to an epic final.
Behind that acknowledgment and anticipation, however, Super Rugby’s fatal flaw is once again laid bare. For the fourth consecutive year, two New Zealand sides will play off for the title. The last time an Australian side played in the final was in 2014, when the Waratahs won a dramatic match 33-32 against the Crusaders.
Perhaps rusted-on Australian rugby fans and expats with a foot on both sides of the Tasman will tune in, eager to see if it will be Cortez Ratima or Noah Hotham who makes the strongest case to be Cam Roigard’s All Black understudy?
Perhaps. Otherwise, you can bet your house that the showpiece of the professional club game in the region will pass unnoticed in Australia. Braydon Ennor versus Daniel Rona? George Bell versus Brodie McAllister? Yeah, whatever.
As ever, two solutions present themselves. Australian rugby needs to get better. Nobody can say they don’t know where the standard has been set.
At least the fallacious notion that culling the Melbourne Rebels would result in improved performance from the remaining franchises can be put to bed. Although it won’t stop some people calling for another limb to be cut off because, you know … three must be better than four and two must be better than three.
The problem with that theory is that, even if it helped deliver an Australian Super Rugby finalist or – God forbid – a winner, the damage done in shutting down participation and high-performance pathways in the affected territories is profound. Shrinking to greatness indeed.
The other solution – frequently pushed on these boards – is for Australian rugby to walk away from Super Rugby and generate more interest in the game domestically, by offering up the guarantee of two local finalists and a local winner.
The obstacles to that remain the same as ever – contractual obligations to Rugby Australia’s rugby and broadcast partners, insufficient funds to sustain a domestic professional competition of any credible standing, and what would inevitably be even further diminution of playing standards, with Australia’s player and coaching base not sufficiently exposed to a higher standard.
So, let’s once again slip that particular file back into the ‘too hard’ basket for a discussion on another day, and enjoy instead what were two contrasting but worthy semi-finals.
Quinn Tupaea passes during the Chiefs’ semi-final win over the Brumbies. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
Aside from neglecting to keep an eye on what Emoni Narawa might do at the base of the Chiefs’ ruck, and the unfortunate early loss of Noah Lolesio, the Brumbies enjoyed the best of the opening half-hour.
The value of getting attacking kicks all the way to the 5m line was perfectly demonstrated by Tom Wright and Jack Debreczini, with the reward being two nicely taken tries.
The Chiefs seemed hesitant early, slow to adjust to the slippery conditions, but once it became apparent that Damian McKenzie had chosen the right boots, the home side gradually eased ahead 19-12 at the break.
In their opening finals matches, both the Chiefs and Brumbies struggled to execute cleanly at lineout. It felt like whoever fixed that first would be at an advantage in this match, and it was here that the Chiefs began to assert their authority.
Soon after half-time, brilliant ball movement across the Brumbies’ backline created space for Corey Toole to bump off McKenzie and score, but that was to be as good as it got for the visitors.
McKenzie quickly shook off that embarrassment, mixing his long and midfield kicking game up nicely, before pulling off a try-saving tackle on Tom Wright that had referee Nic Berry shaking his head, trying to come to terms with having to rule ‘no try’.
For all that, McKenzie wasn’t even the Chiefs’ best – winger Leroy Carter was outstanding under the high ball, and always a menace on the carry.
Forced into playing catch-up, the Brumbies’ error rate ticked upwards; possession and territory were both dominated by the Chiefs in the second half.
Even so, with the match lost 37-17, they can be proud of how their effort never flagged – Luke Reimer perhaps the best example.
And while Tom Wright, if he had his time again after his superb kick-off regather, might tuck the ball under his other arm and dive and slide earlier, Wallabies fans should be delighted at seeing his skill execution and confidence levels as high as they’ve ever been.
The first semi-final in Christchurch delivered authentic, attritional, finals football, with the Crusaders only just keeping the Blues at bay, 21-14.
Early doors, Apollo Projects Stadium resembled Tokyo’s Shibuya Crossing, with players streaming on and off the pitch, as a result of cards, HIAs and the like. But gradually the match settled into a rhythm, which rather suited the Crusaders; able to steady their defence and ramp their attacking game up enough to (mostly) keep the ball at the right end of the park.
That was until the final stanza, when the Blues tried to repeat what they’d done so successfully against the Chiefs a week before.
Let’s put one thing out there – I’m not sure how we ever got to calling picking the ball up at the base of a ruck and being tackled immediately a ‘phase’ – but regardless, the Blues had 38 opportunities to breach the Crusaders’ line before the ball finally squirted free enough for referee James Doleman to permit the Crusaders to snaffle it up and end things.
That’s as tight and as close to extra time as things come, but it’s also fair to say there was a sense that whatever the Blues tried, however hard they pummelled away, the Crusaders’ enveloping defence had them covered. Clayton McMillan, no doubt, will have taken close notice.
The Crusaders are one match away from extending their remarkable record of winning consecutive home finals from 31 to 32. Put like that, it seems inconsequential. A 3.125 per cent improvement to their record. What’s adding another win amongst friends?
Of course, such a record is unprecedented in finals or play-off situations. Where is there an equivalent to be found, in rugby or any other elite-level professional sport?
There isn’t, and even if the Crusaders do fall to the Chiefs next week, a first home final loss is hardly going to tarnish their 30-year legacy. If that was the case, their reputation would have been trashed last year, when just four matches were won and ten were lost, and they languished in 9th place.
The reason it wasn’t was because anyone who wasn’t a headline-chasing, general news reporter from Auckland could see how the combination of a transition year and a disastrous injury toll gave the Crusaders a leave pass for the season.
The fact it was required for only 2024 tells the story of an organisation always far greater than the sum of its individual parts; a rugby franchise lightyears better than any other at having players, coaches, staff and administrators selflessly serve the club without qualification, or placing personal ambition above the collective.
As if to emphasize that point, when lined up against previous iterations, this 2025 side feels far from being a vintage edition. It’s a team that’s got the most out of itself, which in itself emphasizes the broader point about the club prioritising continuity and, when it comes to excellence and standards, always walking the talk.
It is the Crusaders’ rock-solid foundation that enables them to skip over flaws that, in another franchise, would be more impactful. The halves, for example, are young and inexperienced. Sam Whitelock’s replacements at lock are still learning on the job.
At 34 years old, hooker Codie Taylor’s fingers are increasingly buttery. David Havili has proven to be a sound choice as captain but still has matches like the semi-final, where his skills appear to desert him. Cullen Grace and Ethan Blackadder are high-quality players but their contributions are too often interrupted by injury.
Importantly, the Crusaders’ high points are indeed sky high. Will Jordan is peerless as the competition’s leading back three player; the scrum is consistently rock-solid; sweet-stepping Christian Lio-Willie has taken his game to another level this season; while the player of Friday night’s match, Scott Barrett, has timed his run into form perfectly.
Barrett is oft-maligned; prone to inexplicable acts of ill-discipline at Test level. But it was the quality and volume of his contributions – particularly on defence – that was ultimately the difference between the two sides.
Frequently factored in as a built-in, 10-point advantage is the venue variously known as Apollo Projects Stadium, Rugby League Park or the Addington Stock Yards. After 13 earthquake-induced years, there isn’t a single soul who will mourn the move to Christchurch’s long-awaited new indoor stadium.
Sevu Reece celebrates a Crusaders try in their semi-final win over the Blues. (Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)
Would Mitch Hunt’s famous drop goal to sink the Highlanders in 2018 have gone over at any other ground? Inhospitable seems like a wholly inadequate word to describe what visiting teams and their supporters have had to experience there.
But let’s not forget how Argentina upset the All Blacks there in 2022. It’s not impossible to win in Christchurch, and rest assured the Chiefs will arrive at the ground without fear, ready to make amends for losing the last two finals.
31 in a row and the law of déjà vu all over again says the Chiefs can’t do it.
All I know is that it’s going to be a hell of a lot of fun finding out.
Geoff Parkeshttps://https://ift.tt/WKZeaXE Wrap: Super Rugby Pacific final feels like déjà vu all over again
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