History of spilt blood ensures rivalry continues
Chiefs captain Brad Weber has lit the fuse for some fireworks in Hamilton tonight, admitting there is still hate that exists between his side and the Crusaders.
An already fascinating Super Rugby Aotearoa matchup at FMG Stadium Waikato just got that bit tastier, with confirmation that the bad blood built over the past decade has far from evaporated.
Under Dave Rennie’s watch, the Chiefs took it upon themselves to stand up to the perennial heavyweights, happy to provoke with some off-the-ball niggle and verbal digs, in what were some titanic clashes.
Rennie was happy to acknowledge the hate ahead of his final game in charge – the 2017 semifinal defeat in Christchurch – before heading to Glasgow, while last year Crusaders prop Joe Moody said he had ‘‘a bit of a chip on my shoulder’’ when it came to the Chiefs.
Yesterday, it was Weber’s turn. And the feisty halfback wasn’t about to pour cold water on the simmering tension when asked if the hate was still present.
‘‘Yeah, I’d say so,’’ he said.
‘‘To be fair, it’s probably the rest of the country versus Canterbury, isn’t it? You want to beat the best, and they have been the best over the years.
‘‘The knot in the stomach’s a little bit stronger. Renns really built the hard edge and the niggle and encouraged that, and it’s sort of flowed through. There’s not many of us left from when Renns was here, but we certainly try to bring a bit of that where we can with the young fellas.
‘‘So we’re bloody keen to get stuck in, to be honest. The lads were pretty keen to play the game yesterday, they were fizzed up.’’
Weber said the ‘‘contrasting styles, contrasting environments’’ of the two sides also ‘‘clash a little bit’’.
Asked what he meant by that description, the seven-test All Black said: ‘‘They’re incredibly structured, they’re good at what they do setpiece-wise, they play pretty lowpercentage footy, whereas we like to throw the ball around, have a bit of razzle dazzle.’’
That ever-formidable Crusaders set-piece, however, has shown a few chinks in the armour in the last couple of weeks, and the tabletoppers come to Hamilton with a pack minus Moody (injury), Sam Whitelock and Cullen Grace (both rested), while Codie Taylor will play from the bench.
Weber said the four-time defending champions could have put anyone on the park this week, though, and the Chiefs’ focus would have still been on themselves.
When the teams last met, in round three, in Christchurch, the visitors started well, before being outgunned 39-17, and Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan this week said while they ‘‘were well aware of some of the circumstances that were out of our control that contributed to that’’ (the Brad Weber yellow card, penalty try call), he labelled elements of that performance ‘‘embarrassing’’.
Since their scrum got blown away that night, the Chiefs have immediately rectified it, and after three successive last-gasp wins they have themselves right back in the hunt for a spot in the final, with potentially two victories from their last three games to be enough.
The Chiefs haven’t won four games in a row since the start of the 2018 season, while they haven’t won four successive local derbies since across the 2014-15 campaigns. The Crusaders, meanwhile, have lost just two of their past 13 away games, but both were against the Chiefs.
‘‘We know we’ve got the ability to win games now, sometimes win them ugly, and I guess that breeds a bit of confidence and a bit of calm,’’ said Weber, who will be going toe to toe with a familiar foe in one-test All Black Mitchell Drummond, who will be celebrating his 100th Crusaders appearance.
‘‘I’ve had plenty of good nights out with him, with a few beers as well, so I know he’s a top lad,’’ Weber said.
‘‘He works bloody hard, he’s had his fair share of setbacks and he’s come back pretty well. He’s an incredibly smart halfback, and one I always enjoy having a battle against. Obviously his skillset’s very high, but his game management’s pretty good too, it’s perfect behind the Crusaders pack, he just complements them really well.
‘‘I’m really happy for him, but pretty keen to spoil the party this week.’’
Of course. It’s a Crusaders clash, after all.