Super Rugby finals are momentous occasions, but no final in Super Rugby’s history has been as monumental as Saturday night’s clash at Suncorp Stadium.
It is, perhaps, a match made in heaven. The top-placed teams from the Australian and New Zealand conferences, the first and third-placed teams overall, will contest the Super Rugby’s inaugural title.
The Queensland Reds, who find themselves in unfamiliar finals territory, face the Canterbury Crusaders, who are regular revellers in Super Rugby’s winning circle.
Despite the Crusaders’ dominance over the Reds in past years, it is a mouth-watering clash for any rugby fan. Such history, though, is reminiscent of the Biblical battle between David and Goliath.
The teams have met 17 times in Super Rugby’s history and the Crusaders have won all but five.
10 of those fixtures have been played in Brisbane and the Reds have won just four.
The seven-time champions from Christchurch will take confidence from such statistics, as they will inevitably endeavour to bring joy to the earthquake-ravished city and people of Christchurch.
The Reds, too, will be running high on emotions as they seek to restore pride and unity in the cyclone and flood-affected state of Queensland and win their first Super Rugby title since 1995.
Crusaders’ five-eighth Daniel Carter has expressed just how much it would mean for his side to claim an eighth title earlier this week. Carter will no doubt be at his best on Saturday night after such remarks and he will need to be.
In an electrifying matchup, Carter, aptly heralded as currently the world’s best fly-half, will face arguably the most entertaining fly-half in the game, Quade Cooper.
The Queensland maestro will hope to stand in Carter’s way, and so too will 21 year old Jono Lance who has been handed the task of taming Sonny Bill Williams.
Queensland will be boosted by Rod Davies’ return from injury, and will hope his immediately-found form in last weekend’s semi-final demolition of the Blues will continue against the Crusaders.
Saturday night’s encounter will be Super Rugby at its finest: Australia’s best versus New Zealand’s best.
Greg Growden wrote in the lead up to the Reds/Crusaders fixture earlier in the season that it was to be a “mini Bledisloe Cup”.
Maybe it was, but Saturday night’s re-match of the Week 15 encounter will be nothing short of a repeat of Australia and New Zealand’s 2000 Bledisloe Cup match, billed as the greatest game of rugby ever played.
gumboot
Guest
Protect the woman and children, they'll be stampeding the gates, take cover. Tell my wife I love her, go, save yourself. Gee whizzzz !!!!!!
Derm
Roar Guru
Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!!!
Lorry
Guest
what great sportsmanship, sir!
Lorry
Guest
Kent is very annoying (see my article on the Roar from awhile back, panning the Back Page, but especially Kent) Kent's sports 'journalism' is nearly as moronic as his tabloid articles on crime or whatever! He's such an idealogue that he can't see the resemblance between the Reds of today and the Tigers of a few years back. Fool! The golf lover Billie Birmingham is pretty anti-union as well though... he seems to think every game is the same as Scotland v England 1986
Jackson
Guest
I really wish the Anzac references would go away too.....!
Mike G
Guest
The way Crockett has played this year (& over the last few years, really), he is without doubt the best loosehead in NZ right now...I would even argue that Ben Franks has overtaken Woodcock as well, but I'll leave this argument to another time. But for mine, Crockett is close to the best #1 in world rugby
Moaman
Guest
A Hyperbole-Hole of sorts ;-)
gumboot
Guest
It's gonna be the biggest bestest in the worldest. Goody gumdrops. Bigger than Ben Hur but not quite as big as John Smit. Golly!!!!
Derm
Roar Guru
I thought the Cursaders v Sharks game in Twickenham earlier this year was The Greatest Game Ever Played Of All Time In The World Including The Solar System, Black Holes And Other Assorted Starscapes? Does this mean we're going to have another one? Or will it be EVEN BIGGER?
Stonethecrows
Guest
Why would you do this when the current front row has delivered all season, you want to drop them for the final? What a stupid comment.
Sylvester Hyde
Guest
"saying the Crusaders know him well and what to do and not to do on the day when he is reffing" I'm sure all the coaches know the style of each ref by now, so I wouldn't call that even at all. It's no different to analysing the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition.
cookie
Guest
grumpy growden should stick his pencil somewhere is suspect he will find more comfortable than most of us. greatest game mini bledisoe who gives a sh$% let just hope both teams give us their all. only thing i suspect is that it will be played at terrifying pace and the less fatigued team will wine but then again only a fool would write the crusaders off.
Harry
Guest
Wish they'd go back to afternoon games in the NZ winter. IMO its ridiculous playing the games at night particuarly in the South Island. Fair enough playing them at night in the autumn but after April they should revert to afternoon games.
Emric
Guest
Agreed Stellenbosched. I'm sure there are a lot of curry cup games which could match the 85 Shield game.
mikeylives
Guest
2000 Bledisloe in front of over 100,000. Best game ever!!
cinematic
Guest
Who's the young fella marking up against SBW? On the face of it doesn't seem like a fair fight.
PeterK
Guest
Higginbotham has never started for the Wallabies. Elsom will be the 6 and Higginbotham is no certainty for 8, especpially if Palu is fit. Reds have 1 forward as a certainty Horwill, and 3 backs Genia , Cooper and Ioane. Crusaders have 7 almost certainties look at Jerry list which is most likely correct.
dwc
Guest
Great to see so much excitement about rugby union, the smart code, after the dull periods somewhere between 2006 and 2009....as a Kiwi will back the All Blacks in red all the way, but if the Reds pull it off, congrats all round to them. Have been very impressed with the Reds defence. i am heading out to a Sydney pub with other Kiwis, some Queenslanders, and an American guy who wants to see a real contact sport. should be a celebration of top draw rugby.
warrenexpatinnz
Guest
Hope the game is as good as the movie. The 'old men' of Carter, McCaw and Thorn in comparison with Cooper, Robinson/Gill and Horwill was more my point.
Jiggles
Roar Guru
Katz the Reds have played 3 or 4 different styles of game this year, and they have often switched game-plan mid game too. That’s pretty complete in my eyes. With regards to the set piece (read scrum) it hasn’t cost them a game or many points this season, and no Reds props have been yellow carded for scrum infringements (Daley and Slipper both have a card for dangerous tackles/play). The scrum has not dominated but it hasn’t been as weak as some suggest, with only Waratah’s and Brumbies in the second games putting it under pressure for the full 80. They definitely held their own in their games against all South African teams and both the Blues and Crusaders so far. The Crusaders where awesome at the scrum last week, and it doesn’t matter who you support, but that was scrummaging you can just appreciate. It was awesome.