The 19th Super Rugby Championship is heading for an explosive finale in Sydney this Saturday as 7-time winners Crusaders take on 2-time runners up the New South Wales Waratahs. It is a fitting final as both teams finished first and second in the 15 team tournament, with the Sydney-based Waratahs securing home advantage for the Super Rugby final as they finished top of the ladder.
The Waratahs and Crusaders, despite some inconsistency early on in the tournament, come into this on the back of some tremendous performances towards the end of the campaign and will be boosted further by impressive wins in their semi-finals; the Waratahs going over fellow Australian rivals the ACT Brumbies 26-8 and the men from Christchurch defeating the highest ranked South African outfit, The Sharks 38-6.
The ‘Tahs are many people’s favourites going into this decider, and the stats would seem to back them up as they lead the charts in tries scored, points scored, least points conceded, clean linebreaks, ball carries, metres gained, offloads and finished the season with a perfect home record and franchise record-breaking 8 straight victories. They also have the competition’s top try scorer in Israel Folau, who finished with 12 tries.
There are however, lies, damned lies and statistics.
On this evidence a person unfamiliar with their opponents this weekend would think the title is already in the bag, but on further examination of the Crusaders’ pedigree, one starts to understand why the bookmakers have made this game a very tight one to call.
The 2 previous occasions the Waratahs ventured to the Championship final resulted in defeats both times to the very opponents they face on Saturday, 35-25 in 2005 and 20-12 in 2008, which was the last time the ‘Saders lifted the title.
Delve further into both teams’ histories and some old wounds and mental scars become very apparent. The Waratahs have lost a staggering 11 games in a row against the Crusaders, including a shattering defeat in 2002 by 96 points to 19, a record loss for the men from Sydney.
Which asks the question, will all the memories of defeats to the same opposition rise to the surface come Saturday?
Of the 18 previous Championships, the Crusaders have reached the semi-finals no fewer than 15 times, with 10 final appearances resulting in 7 Championship wins.
Serious history from the tournament’s most successful team.
The Crusaders are also boosted by the return of some very influential players. The all-time leading points scorer in International rugby, the mercurial Daniel Carter, made his return from a sabbatical towards the end of the regular season and has added some much needed stability and direction to a Crusaders back line that was struggling for penetration early on in the season.
The 2013 IRB World player of the year Kieran Read seems to have recovered from an injury-plagued campaign, and looks back to his best as he forms a devastating back row partnership with arguably the greatest player to ever play the game, and most-capped All Black Richie McCaw. The battle against the Waratahs back row and especially with Australia captain Michael Hooper, who has matured greatly over the past 2 seasons, will be an eagerly awaited contest.
The return of these match winners has had a positive effect on the rest of the Crusaders squad as they go into this decider with 6 wins from their last 8 encounters, playing with a positive style and a return to a winning mentality fitting of a franchise with such an illustrious history.
The Waratahs, however, have really set the competition alight this year through scintillating attacking rugby and mean defence which has seen the crowds flock back to the ‘Tahs after being left disillusioned with the Sydney based franchise through a number of dismal seasons recently.
38,000 saw them beat Aussie rivals the Brumbies at Allianz stadium the past weekend and a crowd in excess of 70,000 is expected for the humdinger against the Crusaders. Backs like Kurtley Beale, who, despite recent off field problems, appears to be back to the form which made him a permanent fixture in the Australia set up for a number of seasons. Adam Ashley-Cooper, who never seems to make a mistake, has been his consistent self throughout the season and ofcourse Israel Folau, whose skill set and physical attributes would give any defence coach sleepless nights.
3-Code superstar Folau has been a revelation since moving from the AFL to Rugby Union and will be arguably their greatest attacking weapon this Saturday, a fact most likely not lost on the Crusaders. The half back pairing of Nick Phipps and Bernard Foley has formed beautifully, allowing the platform for the style of play that coach Michael Cheika has been aiming for since becoming head coach in 2013.
The Waratahs will be able to call on the biggest player ever to represent Australia, the 6’8’’, 310 pound behemoth William Skelton, who, as France found out during their 3 test series defeat against the Wallabies, is virtually impossible to contain. Add in other huge ball carriers like Kane Douglas, Palu, Kepu, Polota-Nau, Poltgeiter and we begin to understand why the Waratahs are able to generate such great go forward ball for their exciting backs.
Many observers believe moving the game from the 43,000 capacity Allianz Stadium, the traditional home of the Waratahs, to the much larger 84,000 capacity ANZ Stadium just up the road will be a neutralising effect, taking away the home advantage. It may play a part but the Waratahs have won 3 of their last 4 games played at this venue so it won’t be anything new for them playing at the Olympic venue.
It is a classic matchup of an exciting young firebrand against a team with a strong collective unity and winning culture. The Waratahs have their best chance yet of lifting the title for the first time but the old Nemesis may break their hearts once more.
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