Richie Mo'unga kisses the trophy after winning another Super Rugby title. Photosport
Richie Mo'unga kisses the trophy after winning another Super Rugby title. Photosport
Seven talking points after a surprising Super Rugby Pacific final.
Game of one half
When two quality teams clash, a game is rarely decided at halftime.
Except, it turns out, when Scott Robertson and the Crusaders plan a masterclass in how to win a final.
By the time the teamsheaded off Eden Park at the break, with the score 13-0 to the Crusaders, predictions from the TAB, fans online and paid commentators of a close, nail-biting game were upended. The Blues kept trying, but the final 21-7 victory was as inevitable as rain in an Auckland winter.
Because his massive enthusiasm manifests itself in wonderful touches like his onfield victory dances, it's easy to think that Robertson's staggering record with the Crusaders is built largely on passion.
There's no doubt excitement plays a big role, but the biggest clue to why he's been so successful came on Friday when his former coach Robbie Deans, lauding both Robertson and Leon MacDonald, noted that Robertson was an inventive coach, always looking for new ideas.
Robertson may joke that his wife has two degrees, one for her and one for him, but if they did degrees in rugby, Harvard would be offering him a tenure. He's been a serious student of the game from the time he arrived in Christchurch from Mt Maunganui in 1996, with a mop of blond surfer hair, and a playbook. "I had three of the greatest coaches, Wayne Smith, Robbie Deans, and Steve Hansen," he once told me. "I had my own playbook with my moves and my structures. I'd go to the different coaches and show them, and say, 'Can I do this better? What about this?'"
That mix of unbounded energy and dedication to improvement has never faded. No coach in world rugby has achieved what he has with the Crusaders.
It was the Blues' great misfortune to be on the receiving end of a prime example of his coaching credentials.
Deja vu
The Blues forwards were beaten up everywhere. Ten lineout losses on their own throws, a scrum that was often dominated, and living off scraps at the breakdowns meant the backline stars who have shone so brightly all season hardly fired a shot.
You kill the brilliance of a Beauden Barrett by choking his supply of front-foot ball. When he was the key man at the Hurricanes the Crusaders basically kept him out of the game by dominating in the forwards. At Eden Park the blueprint from those victories over the Canes worked perfectly again.
Big games for big men
In the astonishing domination of the Blues lineout every Crusader played a role, but at the heart of the other worldly display were 33-year-old, 132-test veteran lock Sam Whitelock and 22-year-old No 8 Cullen Grace, who was a replacement in one test in 2020.
The duo have rugby smarts in common, and the physique, backbone and burning desire to execute on the big stage of a final. Robertson was right when he said that Grace was "playing like an All Black." He must surely be back in the national frame soon.
Who dares wins
More than any other Crusader, Richie Mo'unga provides heart in the mouth moments, when he's being hunted down by bigger, strong men, with malice in their minds, and he somehow steps, spins, and gets away. That uncanny ability was again on display in the final, a reminder that having both him and Barrett means New Zealand is the best-stocked country for first-fives.
Richie Mo'unga kisses the trophy after winning another Super Rugby title. Photosport
Sheer joy
Sevu Reece is such a constantly cheeky, energised, mischievous presence on the field it's as if that kid at a pre-schoolers' birthday party who somehow sneaked all the sugary treats has grown muscles, pulled on boots, and decided to make life a misery for any poor player trying to pin him down. When Reece pretends he's going to take a tap kick, and then beams at the looks of panic on defenders' faces when he just steps over the ball, I laugh out loud.
Crusaders winger Sevu Reece celebrates winning the Super Rugby Pacific final. Photosport
Come on Aussie, get real
The chest-beating out of Australia that they don't need New Zealand rugby is nothing new. Common sense says that when the two best Super teams in both countries come from New Zealand, it mightn't be a bad idea to keep the connection.
