Chiefs v Crusaders: The best of enemies
At last, Dave Rennie has said what everyone suspected - that the Chiefs and Crusaders really do ‘‘hate’’ each other.
The bubbling feud between the two Super Rugby giants was laid bare this week when, Rennie, having been asked whether hate between the two sides really did exist, pounced on the bait.
‘‘No, that’s pretty accurate, I’d say,’’ Rennie, who will soon join Scotland club Glasgow Warriors, told Radio Sport.
‘‘In the end, they’ve won so many titles and I guess we wanted to really stand up to them six years ago. There have been some titanic clashes they’re always physical, all the Kiwi games are.’’
So there you have it. Off the record conversations with representatives from both clubs often indicated there was no shortage of angst, but Rennie has finally come out and spilled the beans and made it public.
As one former Crusaders player stated: ‘‘That’s the Chiefs, they really hate us. They just love trying to beat us.’’
When Rennie’s comments were put to Crusaders captain Sam Whitelock yesterday, he hardly batted an eyelid.
‘‘I think there is a lot of niggle between any two sides in this competition,’’ Whitelock said.
‘‘All the players really care about their sides and go out there and do the best they can. It really is physical and brutal out there.’’
Whitelock knows how rugged these contests can be. Last year he was forced to retreat to the blood bin to have a nasty wound beside his eye stitched after Chiefs halfback Tawera Kerr-Barlow jumped over a player at the back of a ruck and trod on his All Blacks teammate’s face at AMI Stadium.
Kerr-Barlow, much to the chagrin of then-coach Todd Blackadder, wasn’t called out by the Sanzaar citing commissioner because it was deemed an accident. The Crusaders fumed, believing the act was still reckless and warranted punishment.
Even when taking into account the fact that Kieran Keane gave the Crusaders a burst when he left Tasman to work as an assistant coach with the Chiefs in late 2015,there has been plenty more to rankle the Crusaders.
It all comes back to results. There is no doubt that is where the Chiefs have had the upper hand since Rennie took over in 2012. With the assistance of the much-respected Wayne Smith, Rennie immediately led them to consecutive titles in 2012 and 2013.