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The Crusaders are champions again. Of course, they are. The kings of Super Rugby sealed a dramatic, hard-fought 25-20 victory over the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday evening to give their champion players and coach the perfect sign-off.
Trailing 20-15 midway through the second half, a try to Codie Taylor in the 73rd minute drew the Crusaders level with the Chiefs before Richie Mo’unga stepped up to convert.
Chiefs playmaker Damian McKenzie had the chance to give the Chiefs the lead with two minutes left on the clock, but his strike from just beyond halfway fell metres short.
A penalty after the final siren to Mo’unga sealed the Crusaders a historic victory.
By winning, lock Sam Whitelock and fly-half Mo’unga sealed their status as two of the competition’s greatest. Mo’unga, who took over the reins from Dan Carter, will go down as Super Rugby’s most successful ever player.
Mo’unga was at the heart of the Crusaders’ victory.
The playmaker scored the opening points of the night by slotting a penalty in the eighth minute and ended it with a penalty in the 81st minute to seal their stunning victory away from home at Waikato. It was their second straight victory away from home to seal the title.
Brett McKay, Harry Jones and Jim Tucker dissect the Crusaders’ win in the Instant Reaction podcast
His try just before half-time was also a crucial blow, as he finished off a classic Crusaders try after fullback Will Jordan put Leicester Fainga’anuku in space out wide. One phase later and the Crusaders were over after a quick recycle saw the playmaker spot a hole and take it to score.
Scott Barrett holds the Super Rugby Pacific trophy as the Crusaders celebrate after winning the Super Rugby Pacific Final match at FMG Stadium Waikato, on June 24, 2023, in Hamilton. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
Coach Scott Robertson, who will take over from Ian Foster as All Blacks coach following the World Cup, is undisputedly Super Rugby’s greatest coach.
Since replacing Todd Blackadder in 2016, Robertson lead the Crusaders to seven straight Super Rugby titles across multiple iterations of the competition format because of Covid-19.
Robertson’s Crusaders won the Super Rugby Aotearoa competition in 2020 as well as 2021, before back-to-back Super Rugby Pacific titles in 2022 and 2023.
Richie Mo’unga and coach Scott Robertson celebrate after winning the Super Rugby Pacific Final at FMG Stadium Waikato on June 24, 2023, in Hamilton. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
The Crusaders’ 25-17 victory at altitude against the Lions was one of their best. Indeed, it was the rare final won away from home that started the Crusaders’ juggernaut but 2023 will be sweeter.
Indeed, Robertson’s Crusaders had no right to win the title in 2023. Their injury toll was immense, where they were missing several All Blacks all year.
Whitelock, their trojan horse second-rower, somehow returned for the final despite battling an Achilles injury.
“We talked about going to heaven this year, but we had to go through hell first and I think we did that earlier in this season and really finished it off tonight,” veteran hooker Codie Taylor said.
“It wasn’t easy, but it’s something special.”
Codie Taylor celebrates after at full-time after beating the Chiefs in the 2023 Super Rugby final on June 24, 2023, in Hamilton. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
Departing Chiefs co-captain Brad Weber summed up the flat feeling felt by his side, who lost just once throughout the regular season.
“It sucks,” he said. “This crowd here tonight deserved to see us win tonight and geez if we’d done it with for 14 men for 30 minutes that would have been helluva story to tell and we’ve come up just short. Devastated, mate.”
The Crusaders dominated the opening stages, but only had Mo’unga’s penalty to show for it.
They weren’t helped by the loss of All Black-in-waiting Dallas McLeod being forced off after nine minutes after a high shot from Anton Lienert-Brown.
The All Blacks centre was shown a yellow card, which wasn’t upgraded to a red, but was fortunate not to be shown red for a poor example of tackle technique, where the classy Chiefs midfielder didn’t drop his body height. McLeod failed to return from a head injury assessment, while Lienert-Brown returned after 10 minutes.
McKenzie levelled the score 3-3 after 19 minutes, before Shaun Stevenson finished off a swift backline movement to give the Chiefs a 10-3 lead.
Chiefs loose-forward Luke Jacobson was shown a yellow card after the home side’s discipline woes saw Ben O’Keefe lose his patience.
Taylor took full advantage, as the Crusaders hit back.
Mo’unga scored the Crusaders’ second try in eight minute to give the visitors the lead.
The Chiefs dominated the early stages after half-time, as Emoni Narawa scored a stunning try out wide.
McKenzie’s penalty extended the lead out to 20-15.
Sam Cane looks on from the sin bin in the final stages of their final loss at FMG Stadium Waikato on June 24, 2023, in Hamilton. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
Narawa looked to have scored his second soon after, but the Chiefs were denied as McKenzie was pinged for being offside from the linebreak.
The game turned again when Sam Cane was shown a yellow card and from the next rolling maul Taylor had his second after 72 minutes. Mo’unga’s conversion gave the visitors the lead.
McKenzie’s missed penalty from beyond half-time was the hammer blow for the Chiefs.
Mo’unga made no mistake soon after to seal an extraordinary title.
All that was left was to raise the trophy one more time – and then breakdancng.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.