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Opinion
It’s hard to imagine two more contrasting semi-finals; one a gob-smacking, Blues-spanking no-contest, the other a tense arm-wrestle only decided in the final few minutes.
What we’re left with are the competition’s two best sides; the Chiefs with the advantage of hosting, the Crusaders with the advantage of, well… being the Crusaders.
In all of their 29 consecutive home play-off wins, it’s hard to remember one containing a first half of such brutal and clinical efficiency. As off as the Blues were, they were simply never given a chance.
With an injury list that would have cruelled any other franchise, the Crusaders were, in many tipsters’ eyes, deemed a risk. But so strong is their system, so well prepared their squad, the only risk was to the scoreboard attendant, from slipping a disc in his back, having to rapidly change the numbers.
At 32-3 by half-time, the match was decided long before Leicester Fainga’anuku took centre-stage from a planned lineout move; what Sky NZ commentator Karl Te Nana colourfully described as “gashing them”.
If Fainga’anuku wasn’t in Ian Foster’s All Black squad before his spectacular try – and given his announced departure to Toulon there were people happy for him to be overlooked – he most certainly was now.
As ever, it all started up front, the Crusaders’ pack hunting as a unit, the accuracy and speed of their cleanout and recycle too much for the Blues to deal with. And with the front foot conceded to Richie Mo’unga, both the mercurial flyhalf and Braydon Ennor took full advantage.
If anything, the Crusaders’ intensity was even higher in defence. The Blues were never allowed to settle and, always finding themselves half a step behind, dangerous players like Mark Telea were always working in heavy traffic.
The overwhelming sense was one of cohesion; testament to a carefully built and maintained system, that allows for new players to be introduced already having complete clarity around their role, and the discipline and skill base to perform it.
There was a lot to like also about the Crusaders’ hard-edged mentality; at 49-8 up in the 78th minute, electing to kick a penalty goal. In terms of the result of the match, the three points were meaningless, but tipping the scoreboard over 50, to live in perpetuity, to be referred to in the future by players and fans, was entirely meaningful.
What’s interesting about the Blues is that, in their quarter-final win against the Waratahs, it was difficult to gauge how well they had played, or how much of the result was down to their opposition’s failings.
This week, it was difficult to gauge how poorly they played, or how much of the result was down to the excellence of the Crusaders.
(Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)
What we do know is that if any side – no matter how many Test caps among them – takes the field against the Crusaders in a home final even just a tiny bit off the pace, lacking the smallest amount of aggression, conceding anything at all in the collision or breakdown, then they will be wiped. Gashed, even.
The Blues paid for their lack of abrasion at the All Blacks’ selection table; Akira Ioane and Hoskins Sotutu at least, with Finlay Christie and Beauden Barrett arguably lucky not to join them on the outer.
By contrast, Ennor was rewarded, along with Dallas McLeod; notionally the only bolter in the squad, but who appeals as a skilled player with a low error rate. With fullback already well covered by Will Jordan, Damian McKenzie and Barrett as back-up, McLeod nabbed the spot most thought belonged to Shaun Stevenson, because his utility (wing/centres) suits this squad more than Stevenson’s (wing/fullback).
The second semi-final was framed firstly by the Hamilton rain, then by the defensive excellence of both sides. At least this was a match where both sides turned up to play, albeit the traditional ‘softening-up’ period seemed to drag on forever, with both sides looking to play for field position, wary of making errors in their own half.
What this represented was two defences being afforded the utmost respect by their opposition and, when put to the test, the defences delivering. With both teams repeatedly sending runners down the 10-12 channel, only to be blocked, time after time, this always felt like a one-score game.
Just before half-time, the Chiefs felt they had that score in their grasp, camped on the Brumbies’ try-line, but a combination of bad luck, terrific defence and a loss of composure around their decision making, conspired against them.
Surely the Chiefs had watched the end of the Brumbies’ quarter-final against the Hurricanes the week before? No matter Samisoni Taukei’aho, like Ardie Savea last week, believing he had scored, trying to dot the point of the ball down on a post-it-note, in a mass of bodies, is a flawed strategy.
Incredibly, the Chiefs were gifted another opportunity when Tom Wright somehow failed to drop-kick the ball out, but when the Brumbies held firm again, they took a truck-load of self-belief into half-time, only 6-3 down.
Wright’s faux pas offered up a whole raft of talking points. For a start, having been critical of Wright’s one-on-one defensive positioning and execution in recent weeks, it’s important to note that Test selectors and coaches typically take a longer-term view than fans. They know what players are capable of. What is coachable and what isn’t.
A bad mistake or two, or an unhappy match is usually just that, not a trigger for Eddie Jones to yo-yo a player like Wright in and out of the selection frame.
That said, this was a poor piece of rugby. Even with the siren having sounded, Wright was not permitted to drop kick the ball out on the full from the goal-line, to end play. This would have seen the Chiefs offered the choice of a 5m scrum or 5m lineout.
But with the dropout only required to travel five metres, Wright should have been able to wander over towards the sideline, blast the ball into touch on the bounce, and head for the sheds.
As it was, the world’s longest arm-wrestle continued until the 72nd minute, when a superb 50m penalty from McKenzie saw the Brumbies needing to score a converted try to win.
Noah Lolesio kicking out on the full however, let the Chiefs straight back in, and when McKenzie crafted a rare line break, and stayed in support, the surge to the line for Brodie Retallick to score was too much for the Brumbies to handle.
(Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
The 19-6 score-line was neither here nor there. The Brumbies had given plenty, but with the Chiefs neutralising their 5m lineout maul, they had come up just a tiny bit short; not unlike the Reds the week before.
That, of course, is finals football, where small errors carry a greater cost than they do in the regular season, and where a 78-minute effort, no matter how honourable, is not enough.
It’s also a fair reflection of home ground advantage, proven over the years in Super Rugby finals to be an overwhelming success indicator, and in this case, a rueful reminder of the Round 13 match the Brumbies dropped in Perth.
One silver lining is that with all Australian sides now out of business, Jones gets to welcome more players into the Wallabies’ Gold Coast camp, sooner. No word yet on when the current group will be trimmed down via a formal Wallabies squad announcement, but with the Rugby Championship looming, and Jones and his players still relatively unfamiliar with each other, the extra week will be useful.
So, to next week’s final, and what looks like a genuine, high quality, 50/50, ‘too hard to call’ kind of match. The Crusaders, no matter their missing men, have form and momentum on their side. Proven winners, they’ll be desperate to send Razor Robinson off with another title.
The Chiefs boast a miserly defence, the best four-man attacking threat from the back in the competition, and are no slouches up front either, with Brodie Retallick warming into his work over the last fortnight. They also have home ground advantage.
Those without a dog in the fight can relax and look forward to what should be an epic Final. Supporters of either side, meanwhile, face a nervous week ahead.
Others, like World Cup-winning coach Steve Hansen, can get on with watching the NRL.