Crusaders captain Scott Barrett has compared the prospect of playing against the Blues in the Super Rugby Pacific final at a sold-out Eden Park with playing in the hostile cauldron of Johannesburg’s Ellis Park.
Speaking in Christchurch before the Crusaders named their team, which includes the previously injured Sam Whitelock and Codie Taylor, two key forwards who will boost their chances enormously, Barrett left his audience in no doubt about the atmosphere he was expecting on Saturday night.
“Most of them will probably be Blues supporters so it will almost have a Johannesburg-type feel about it where everyone is cheering against you, so hopefully we’ll keep the crowd quiet for most of the game and we can get a result,” he said. “It’s hugely exciting.”
The Crusaders won their first title under Scott Robertson at Ellis Park in 2017.
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Asked to compare the build-ups, Robertson said of his first championship: “We hadn’t won it in nine years. We’ve had some success in the last few years so probably the context and narrative is a little bit different. We went over as extreme underdogs – Ellis Park and 60-odd thousand people. Hopefully there’s 50-odd thousand at Eden Park, so that side of it is the same.
“The Blues have been exceptional all year, they’re on a hell of a run. It’s been a while since they lost at Eden Park. They’ve made the Garden pretty special. For us to go up there, it’s a hell of a rivalry and just what Super Rugby needs. We’re excited. It’s a perfect occasion for us.”
Robertson and the Crusaders are used to winning titles. The head coach has won a championship every year he has been with the red and blacks – five and counting.
The Crusaders have won 12 in total. And yet there is still scope for expert help from outside the squad, including former skipper Richie McCaw and former coach Robbie Deans.
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“They’re normally just a couple of good one-liners from the likes of the Robbie Deans of this world,” Robertson said. “A couple of ex-captains had a chance to connect and reiterate what it’s like to win finals. Those messages are with us.
“Robbie has obviously just won a final himself – he’s won five or six in a row – and he’s just got a little bit of gold, a way to keep things a little bit simple, as he says.
“I was talking to Richie McCaw yesterday and he just confirms what you’re thinking and what’s required.”
In a wide-ranging final interview for the week before the Crusaders depart for Auckland, Robertson revealed flanker Pablo Matera shed tears after escaping a suspension in a judicial hearing for two yellow cards (which amounted to a red) – one for a technical offence and the other a high tackle – in the semifinal victory over the Chiefs last weekend.
“He was actually very emotional, Pablo, to get that result. It could have gone either way.
“It’s a final, and for him to come all this way and to play some sublime footy – he’s been one of our form players for a number of games in a row – to miss the final after bringing his young family across… and he’s never won a championship, to have to watch it would have been really hard.”
With Ethan Blackadder out for the rest of the year with a shoulder injury, Matera, the Pumas international likely to be playing his final game for the Crusaders, will add the physical and aggressive element the visitors will require on Saturday.
“They’ve got good belief and it’s been built off a good defensive effort…” Robertson said of the Blues. “We understand what’s required on both sides of the ball."
Crusaders team to play the Blues in the Super Rugby Pacific final at Eden Park on Saturday, kick-off 7.05pm is:
1. George Bower
2. Codie Taylor
3. Oli Jager
4. Scott Barrett (C)
5. Sam Whitelock
6. Pablo Matera
7. Tom Christie
8. Cullen Grace
9. Bryn Hall
10. Richie Mo'unga
11. Leicester Fainga'anuku
12. David Havili
13. Jack Goodhue
14. Sevu Reece
15. Will Jordan
Reserves:
16. Brodie McAlister
17. Tamaiti Williams
18. Fletcher Newell
19. Quinten Strange
20. Corey Kellow
21. Mitch Drummond
22. Braydon Ennor
23. George Bridge
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