Crusaders claim Super Rugby title
Canterbury Crusaders coach Scott Robertson soothed his frazzled nerves at the end of a pulsating Super Rugby Aotearoa final win over the Waikato Chiefs with some impromptu break-dancing and a declaration of more to come from his championship-winning side.
Robertson led his team to a fifth straight Super Rugby title with a 24-13 win over the Chiefs at Christchurch Stadium on Saturday before taking the lead in the celebrations with a series of slick moves and spins in front of the capacity crowd.
The Crusaders won despite playing for a six-minute period in the second half with 13 men after Codie Taylor and Sevu Reece were sin-binned, and Robertson was relieved his team made it over the line.
“I was nervous — I know how good they are,” he said of the Chiefs. “We had to be at our best — at times we were against the ropes and all the leadership stuff we do, making the right calls and staying present, showed tonight.
“We’re still hungry, we know we’re not liked, teams are desperate. I know we’re disliked immensely, but I’d like to think we’re respected for what we’ve done.
“You have to stay hungry for so long, and put your body through it for so long and turn up every day.
“We have to get better as a team to keep winning.
“I’m really proud to coach this team — but it’s only half the season done.”
The five Super Rugby Aotearoa teams now shift focus to the Super Rugby Trans-tasman competition, which starts next week and features sides from both New Zealand and Australia after the opening of a travel corridor between the two nations.
The Crusaders will go into that competition in buoyant mood after Richie Mo’unga’s stellar kicking performance proved the difference against the Chiefs.
“There was a lot of emotion in the box... we were in all sorts for a bit,” Robertson said.
“We just couldn’t finish anything, we created so much in the first half, played some great footy. But at the end of sets we’d turn the ball over or the ball would go out on the full, or there was a knock on. Then we just found a way.”
Captain Scott Barrett said: “Tonight was an awesome effort; so proud of the boys.”
Despite the odds being stacked against them, the Chiefs played a full part in an exhibition of the best of New Zealand rugby played out in front of a packed house.
“We did our absolute best, we threw everything at them, we just weren’t good enough tonight,” Chiefs captain Brad Weber said.
Damian Mckenzie scored all their points with a converted try and two penalties, but the fullback will rue his usual accuracy from the tee deserting him for a period around halftime when he missed three shots at goal.