It for a franchise accustomed to excellence

to Brisbane for the final. It was one game too far.

In 2014, they were robbed of victory by a poor refereeing call in the last minute when Craig Joubert said Richie McCaw was offside. He wasn’t and a few days after Bernard Foley nailed the winning penalty for the Waratahs, Joubert rang the Crusaders to apologise.

Blackadder

has had

a good

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sport coaching reign but, without that elusive title, it can’t be considered a great one. Without a title in seven years, after seven in 11 years, it feels like they have gone backwards.

In Blackadder’s defence, the competition has grown and changed to the point where it’s probably not fair to look at the previous achievements when the competition had 12 and 14 teams and expect the same success.

Blackadder was also a victim of changing policies and attitudes at New Zealand Rugby. He had to manage two campaigns without Daniel Carter, who was on sabbatical, and one without McCaw for the same reason.

Super Rugby start dates have become negotiable for leading All Blacks and, because the Crusaders provide a major contingent, they have had to juggle and integrate their assets more than most in the last five years.

Regardless of what happens next year, the job will be highly sought after. Kieran Keane, currently assistant with the Chiefs, will no doubt be keen and Crusaders assistant Tabai Matson is an obvious contender. So too, perhaps, former Hurricanes assistant Mark Hammett.

Plenty of other franchises would love to have emulated . . . the Crusaders since 2009, but Blackadder hasn’t been coaching other franchises.