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What a final! The Sydney city slickers defeated the cranky South Island farmers team from Christchurch. But it was breathless, close-run, one of the best Super Rugby finals ever, and a massive boost for rugby in Australia.
So there was Bernard Foley, about 45 metres out from the Crusaders posts and a minute of play left, with the chance to kick the penalty that would win the Waratahs the 2014 Super Rugby championship.
There was the slightest of night breezes into his face. The kick was right on the extreme limits of his range.
He placed the ball carefully, kept his balance, and struck it perfectly. The ball sailed away into the night air.
There was a guttural, raucous and triumphant roar from the crowd of 61,823 spectators as it became obvious the penalty kick would be successful.
Waratahs 33-Crusaders 32!
A game that looked to be well won by the Waratahs inside the first 15 minutes, then lost on the hour, then there for the winning minutes later, lost again with five minutes of play remaining, was finally won by the man of the match (on my judgment, anyway) with a nerveless penalty from well out.
This was a game for the true believers and for those doubters of rugby, as it showcased what an enthralling spectacle rugby is when played in the right spirit and with teams intent on winning rather than on not losing. It was a superb, gripping game, with virtually every play having a significance.
There were moments of sensational ensemble play from both teams. The Crusaders’ first try, for instance, came after a storming attack deep into Waratahs territory was turned, with the Waratahs charging into the Crusaders half, only to see an astonishing counter-attack with Matt Todd running the ball in for a try like a like a born-again winger.
Before the final Dan Carter talked about how important it was for the Crusaders to come out playing with fire and accuracy in the first 20 minutes. This would put doubt into the minds of the Waratahs, he suggested.
What happened was a mirror-image of the Carter visualisation. The Waratahs were absolutely sensational in the first 15 minutes. Their clean-outs of the rucks gave the backs front-foot ball. They put together planned moves by deep-lying backs that nonplussed the famed Crusaders defensive line. Tackles were missed by Crusaders forwards and backs, in close and out wide.
Up by 14 points, it looked as if we were going to see one of the great boil-overs of all time, a replay of the Bulls annihilation of the Chiefs at Loftus Versfeld in their Super Rugby final. Everything the Waratahs did, even the miss-kicks, turned to gold.
But the quality of the Crusaders spirit came to the fore. They scored their terrific try and at 14-7, it was game on.
Although the game went down to the last play, you always had the feeling that at any time the Waratahs were going to break out and just decimate the Crusaders.
The Waratahs ran for 494 metres, compared with 392 to the Crusaders. The Tahs made 148 carries to 70. Their 183 passes to the Crusaders’ 77 was a significant indication of how dominant the Waratahs were when they had possession. They won the turnover contest 14-9. they had 7 clean breaks to 6. And they beat 21 defenders to the 16 by the Crusaders.
The Crusaders, curiously, had more offloads, 17 to the 13. Their scrum forced several important penalties and towards the end of the match the Crusaders’ lineout forced a crooked throw and a couple of steals.
On the statistics, it is hard to see how the Crusaders stayed in the match for as long as they did. The big winger Nemani Nadolo made several telling breaks and scored a try that only a winger of 120 kilograms and some pace could have scored. But other than him there was not a lot of penetration from the Crusaders.
Losing Carter after 30 minutes was a telling blow. His defence was missed, but more importantly for the Crusaders they missed his penetration and off-loading out of the tackles after making the initial break.
The Crusaders, too – and this is admittedly with hindsight – should have left Andy Ellis on the field. His replacement Willie Heinz had the chance of virtually closing out the match when the Crusaders won a shortish kickoff after taking the lead 32-30 with minutes remaining.
Heinz hurriedly kicked out on the full, and the Waratahs were placed in an attacking position which they turned into the penalty kick that won the Super Rugby title.
It was clear right from the beginning of play that the Waratahs’ coaching staff had done a brilliant job in preparing the side, and the players had bought into the plans.
For example, against the Sharks during the pool rounds – a match the Crusaders lost, even though the Sharks played with 14 men most of the time – Nadolo was very shaky under the high ball, and when he had to turn and chase a kick. Early on in the final, the Waratahs kicked to Nadolo, who had all sorts of problems trying to field the ball.
This nervy, fumbling play by Nadolo seemed to infect the confidence of the Crusaders for the crucial opening period.
Early on, too, the Waratahs got over their lineout woes by making a call in the huddle, dallying and then quickly coming into line for Tatafu Polota-Nau to quickly throw in. This ploy meant the Crusaders couldn’t read where the throw was going from the way the jumpers lined up.
Several throws were long, something the Crusaders were clearly not expecting.
On the scrum, too, the Waratahs really attacked the Crusaders’ feed to try and give referee Craig Joubert an indication that they, perhaps, had a dominant scrum.
On the first time the Waratahs ran the ball, Bernard Foley did a double-around outside of Kurtley Beale and he sliced through the Crusaders’ defence. The boldness of this play, which put the Crusaders defence on notice, that they drifted across the field at their peril was an important part of the psychological game played by the Waratahs.
The Waratahs were adamant about rushing forward in defence, one of the reasons the Crusaders couldn’t get much flow into their back play (along with Carter not being on the field for 50 minutes). This rush defence cost them the lead towards the end of the match, but it also frustrated the Crusaders most other times so that the tactic of getting Nadolo one-on-one with Kurtley Beale never really eventuated.
Dave Rennie took only a year to take the Chiefs to back-to-back Super Rugby titles. Michael Cheika has taken two years to bring the Waratahs to their first Super Rugby title. There is no reason why the Waratahs can’t go back-to-back, with most players staying with the club.
But the players need Michael Cheika to be there as coach. You hear lots of rumours about these things, but why the Waratahs haven’t made Cheika an offer he can’t refuse is baffling.
Look at the huge crowd at the ANZ Stadium, look at their enthusiasm for the Waratahs, look at the television ratings, and just bring out the cheque book. It’s the obvious Cheika-mate move.