The final countdown
The Chiefs are embracing the underdog tag and a nothing-to-lose attitude as they look to rewrite the history books in tonight’s Super Rugby Aotearoa final.
On what has been a rollercoaster 10-week campaign, which began with successive losses and a record-equalling 11-game losing streak, then saw five consecutive heart-in-the-mouth wins to book a spot in the decider with a week to spare, the Chiefs now have their chance at a fairytale finish.
Standing in their way, though, is all the might of the Crusaders, in their fortress of Christchurch, and it’s going to take some never-before-seen effort to trump the champions in this first-ever Kiwi comp decider.
Never before have the red-and-blacks – winners of the past four Super competitions and 11 overall – been toppled in a home playoff match. They are an astonishing 24-0 in that department, and 6-0 in home deciders.
As much as history might count for little come kickoff at Orangetheory Stadium, it’s a staggering, intimidating record, and one which Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan said doesn’t go unnoticed by his side.
‘‘It’s formidable and you have to respect it,’’ he said. ‘‘But when we talk about sequences, it wasn’t too long ago we were talking about our losing one. And our job is to try and create our own one now.’’
The Chiefs, who enter their first final since their back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013, have not been victorious in the Garden City since 2016, and have never won a playoff match in New Zealand away from Hamilton, losing all four previous attempts.
Then comes the staggering figures of this campaign, where one would be excused for thinking this was actually top v bottom rather than 1 v 2.
While the Crusaders have scored the most points (237) and tries (30) and conceded the least points (165) and tries (18), through the eight-game regular season, the Chiefs sit last of all five teams in each of those four categories.
Their biggest worry will be their 18 tries scored, having only once notched more than two in one match. While they have had the golden boot of Damian McKenzie to make up for that, they know they can’t rely on the Crusaders handing them those chances if they are to produce the big upset that all the neutrals wouldn’t mind seeing.
‘‘That’s the nature of the beast when you’re at the top of the pile, that everybody wants to knock you off,’’ McMillan said.
‘‘And that’s what’s actually impressive about the Crusaders, it’s a bit like the All Blacks, you know that the opposition is going to bring their best, because anything short of that is not going to be good enough.
‘‘I don’t think there’s any pressure on us whatsoever, like we’ve already exceeded a lot of people’s expectations. The only thing that will let us down will be that we don’t front and we don’t give our best, we go into our shell. But the way the boys have trained, I highly doubt that that’s going to happen.
‘‘We’re going to come out fizzing. And they know that. They’ve referred to us as scrappers, and. . . we’ll turn up as brawlers.
‘‘We’re just amped to get down there and start playing.’’
While the round-three match in Christchurch ended 39-17 to the hosts, the Chiefs were in it for a long period, and had a few big refereeing calls go against them. They then turned the tables in Hamilton three weeks ago, winning 26-25, though the Crusaders rested a handful of All Blacks forwards for that one, which captain Brad Weber is well aware of.
‘‘We want to be the best team in this competition, and to do that you need to beat the best,’’ he said. They’ve named their best possible side, which gets all of us really excited.
‘‘I guess we have been underdogs all season, and it’s suited us just fine. The Crusaders will be favourites for good reason.
‘‘So we’ve got a big job on our hands, but we’re so up for this challenge. We’re as prepared as we could ever be, I think.’’
‘‘We want to be the best team in this competition, and to do that you need to beat the best.’’
Brad Weber