Odds stacked against Canes
History is on the Crusaders’ side as they get set to host the Hurricanes in Saturday’s Super Rugby semifinal.
The Hurricanes have never beaten the Crusaders at the business end of the season.
The Crusaders won all four finals series encounters against the Hurricanes between 2003 and
2008 in an era where the All Blacks-stacked southern franchise boasted Richie McCaw and Dan Carter.
Since their first post-season trip 20 years ago, the Crusaders have appeared in 16 Super Rugby semifinals, winning 11 – including the first seven they contested between 1998 and 2006.
They lost their first semifinal in 2007 and have suffered another four defeats since – winning three and losing four in the last decade.
Three of those reverses came on safari to South Africa – at the hands of the Bulls in 2007, 2009 and 2010.
The Crusaders also lost backto-back semifinals against the Chiefs in Hamilton in 2012 and
2013 – the Chiefs’ title years. However, the Crusaders have never lost a semifinal in Christchurch and have had the wood on the Hurricanes four times – at the semis stage on three occasions and in the 2006 ‘‘foggy final’’.
The Hurricanes first ventured south for a semi with high hopes in 2003, when they boasted All Blacks such as Tana Umaga and Jerry Collins, and the great fullback Christian Cullen.
Yet they were vanquished 39-16, with the Crusaders’ All Black backrowers Sam Broomhall, McCaw and current Crusaders coach Scott Robertson all scoring tries and Dan Carter contributing 21 points with his left boot.
They were back again two years later in 2005, but were crushed 47-7 with Scott Hamilton snaring a hat-trick of tries for the Crusaders and Rico Gear, Carter and prop Greg Somerville joining in the cakewalk.
The Hurricanes returned to Lancaster Park in 2006 for the infamous foggy final when 37,500 fans could barely see their hand in front of their faces as the Crusaders won a footballing farce, 19-12.
Crusaders centre Casey Laulala bagged the only try of the match with Carter kicking a conversion and four penalties to four goals by Jimmy Gopperth (2), Piri Weepu and David Holwell.
The Crusaders’ All Blacks prop Wyatt Crockett – set to play his 202nd Super Rugby game – will be the only player from the foggy final suiting up on Saturday.
Most of the ‘06 Hurricanes were back in 2008, but were sent home again with their tails between their legs after tries by the Crusaders’ Leon MacDonald (2) and a kid called Kieran Read.
The Crusaders’ 33-22 victory flattered the Hurricanes with the visitors’ skipper Andrew Hore lamenting: ‘‘We’ve always come down here with great endeavour and they showed us what finals rugby is like.’’
While the Hurricanes have not yet been able to crack the Crusaders in the knockout phases, they can draw on a respectable recent semifinals record.
This will be the Hurricanes’
ninth semifinal – and their fourth in a row. They’ve had three wins and five losses to date.
But they beat the Brumbies
29-9 in 2015 before losing the final to the Highlanders.
They toppled the Chiefs 25-9 in
2016 on their way to their maiden Super Rugby title, but were beaten 44-29 in Johannesburg last year by the Lions, who were tamed by the Crusaders in the final.
The Hurricanes’ Northampton bound coach Chris Boyd has guided his team to a fourth successive semifinal – still some way off Robbie Deans’ record of seven last-four berths on the bounce for the Crusaders from 2002 to 2008.