Well, the Crusaders (Coached by the master himself, Scott 'Razor' Robertson with Scott 'Scooter' Barrett (You may remember him as Beauden & Jordie's brother) at the helm) have won their 12th title overall (That's 10 Super Rugby championships & now both Super Rugby Aotearoa titles) as they successfully defended the Tu Kotahi Aotearoa trophy & retained the Super Rugby Aotearoa championship after overcoming 2 yellow cards (1st it was Codie Taylor for tackling his All Black teammate Damian McKenzie (Who had a wretched night as a goal kicker just like Stephen Jones for Wales in the 2011 Rugby World Cup semifinal against France) in mid-air in the 53rd minute of the 2nd half then Sevu Reece for a high hit (For what I thought it was a red card offence) on Chiefs fullback Chase Tiatia in the 58th minute of the 2nd half) to dispatch the Clayton McMillan coached Chiefs in the inaugural Super Rugby Aotearoa final at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch so here is the live updates according to Newshub:
Kia ora, good evening and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the Super Rugby Aotearoa between defending champions Crusaders and underdogs Chiefs in Christchurch.
At the start of the season, you would have found pretty long odds on the Chiefs making the championship game, let alone winning the title. They had finished bottom of the inaugural 2020 competition, riding a nine-game losing streak that dated back to pre-COVID-19 play.
After opening the current campaign with two more defeats, they stared down a piece of unwanted history - the longest losing run ever by an NZ Super Rugby side.
Victory over the Hurricanes staved off that ignominy and a five-game winning run was enough to propel them past the Blues (and the Highlanders and Hurricanes) into the final.
Moreover, they have achieved this without incumbent coach Warren Gatland (on British & Irish Lions duty) and injured All Blacks captain Sam Cane.
One of those victories came against the Crusaders, who have wobbled slightly through this year's schedule, also losing to southern neighbours Highlanders.
After three straight Super Rugby titles and last year's Aotearoa honours - albeit achieved without a Grand Final - they have lost key personnel to injury, namely prop Joe Moody, midfield Jack Goodhue and flanker Tom Christie.
Centre Braydon Ennor also missed the regular season, but will return from a knee injury for a spot on the bench for the final.
Their season has been distracted by speculation over the future of coach Scott Robertson, who has achieved everything possible in Super Rugby, but has missed out on the All Blacks job and must be eyeing opportunities abroad.
Crusaders: 1-George Bower, 2-Codie Taylor, 3-Michael Alaalatoa, 4-Scott Barrett, 5-Sam Whitelock, 6-Ethan Blackadder, 7-Sione Havili Talitui, 8-Cullen Grace, 9-Mitchell Drummond, 10-Richie Mo’unga, 11-George Bridge, 12-David Havili, 13-Leicester Fainga'anuku, 14-Sevu Reece, 15-Will Jordan
Reserves: 16-Brodie McAlister, 17-Tamaiti Williams, 18-Oliver Jager, 19-Mitchell Dunshea, 20-Tom Sanders, 21-Bryn Hall, 22-Dallas McLeod, 23-Braydon Ennor
Chiefs: 1-Aidan Ross, 2-Samisoni Taukei'aho, 3-Angus Ta'avao, 4-Tupou Vaa'i, 5-Mitchell Brown, 6-Pita Gus Sowakula, 7-Lachlan Boshier, 8-Luke Jacobson, 9-Brad Weber, 10-Bryn Gatland, 11-Etene Nanai-Seturo, 12-Alex Nankivell, 13-Anton Lienert-Brown, 14-Jonah Lowe, 15-Damian McKenzie
Reserves: 16-Bradley Slater, 17-Ollie Norris, 18-Sione Mafileo, 19-Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 20-Zane Kapeli, 21-Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22-Rameka Poihipi, 23-Chase Tiatia
6:59PM (BREAKING NEWS): Crusaders coach Scott Robertson has made a late change to his starting line-up, with Tom Sanders taking the No.7 jersey off Sione Havili Talitui, who has dropped out of the playing side.
Whetu Douglas comes onto the bench, with Havili Talitui unfortunately suffering a head knock during warm-ups.
KICK OFF (1ST MINUTE): Ben O'Keeffe will referee tonight's big game.
Richie Mo'unga kicks off for the Crusaders, caught by Lienert-Brown and the Chiefs exit through the boot of Gatland.
SCRUM: First lineout won by Grace, but Havili's pass inside to Bridge is ruled forward.
2ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Weber feds to the scrum and he clears under pressure. Chiefs mount an attack, throwing the ball right along the back line.
4TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), SCRUM: Blackadder intercepts the ball and Reece scampers down the right touchline, but Drummond loses it forward in the tackle.
5TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Chiefs scrum in their own 22, trying to clear and Nanai-Seturo kicks long into the Crusaders 22.
6TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: Crusaders into Chiefs territory, but are brought back for offside advantage. Mo'unga kicks to the corner.
7TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY CRUSADERS: 7th minute - Try to Reece
Whitelock wins the lineout, Fainga'anuku makes a bust towards the posts and the forwards rumble towards the line. When the ball emerges, it's moved quickly to Reece, who stands up marker McKenzie and lunges at the line.
CONVERSION: Replays show he plants the ball on the line, so the try is awarded. Mo'unga converts from the sideline, Crusaders 7-0
10TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER): From the kickoff, Crusaders regain possession and Mo'unga kicks behind the Chiefs defence - out on the full. Mitch Brown receives medical attention.
11TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Whitelock steals the Chiefs lineout throw and Drummond kicks high. Gatland returns the favour towards Jordan, who is flattened in a three-man tackle, but Fainga'anuku runs over the top of Weber.
14TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY: Chiefs are driving towards the Crusaders line and eventually win a penalty for offside on Whitelock.
SUBSTITUTION: As McKenzie lines up the posts, Weber leaves for a head injury assessment, replaced by Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi.
15TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY GOAL CHIEFS: McKenzie slots the penalty to put the Chiefs on the board, Crusaders 7-3.
16TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY CRUSADERS: Try to Jordan
CONVERSION MISS: Fainga'anuku carries a couple of tacklers towards the Chiefs 22 and when the ball emerges, it moves left, where Havili kicks towards the line and Jordan gathers to score. Mo'unga misses the conversion, Crusaders 12-3
18TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY: From the kickoff, Crusaders keep the ball in hand, but concede a penalty just inside their own half. Gatland kicks to the corner - perfectly.
20TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY CHIEFS: Try to McKenzie
CONVERSION: Chiefs put 13 men into the lineout and win the throw, but they're mauled backwards. When the ball comes, it's moved right, when Nankivell takes a half-gap and flickes a long backhanded pass for McKenzie to score in the corner. McKenzie brings his conversion back between the posts, Crusaders 12-10
23RD MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), SCRUM & SUBSTITUTION: Crusaders have a scrum feed inside the Chiefs half. Weber has passed his HIA and will return to the game.
24TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Mo'unga makes a break and finds Fainga'anuku on his shoulder. Mo'unga kicks towards the left corner, and McKenzie and Jordan race for the ball, which bounces cruelly and Jordan is eventually put into touch.
26TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Weber returns, with the Chiefs feeding a lineout on halfway.
27TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: Chiefs win lineout at second attempt, but as they move the ball, Havili intercepts and is called back, with one of his forwards called for incorrect entry to a breakdown (Joining ruck incorrectly).
Gatland kicks towards the 22.
28TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SCRUM: Crusaders steal another lineout and clear. Nanai-Seturo returns the favour and forces the Crusaders to exit again. They knock on in their own half.
29TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TMO REFERRAL & PENALTY: Officials are looking at the big screen and will penalize Nanai-Seturo for a high tackle (Dangerous tackle) on Jordan.
Mo'unga kicks for touch and an attacking lineout.
30TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SCRUM: Crusaders trying to build an attack outside the 22 and Chiefs eventually knock on.
31ST MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Drummond feeds a scrum inside the 22, but it collapses and is reset.
32ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Crusaders dominate the scrum, but Weber steals the ball and Chiefs clear their 22. Gatland dashes up field, as the Chiefs go on attack.
33RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): McKenzie has the ball inside the 22 and finds Lowe on the right touchline. He lunges at the goal-line, but Jordan's tackle brings him down just short and the ball bounces into touch.
PENALTY: Jordan is penalized for a head high tackle and the Chiefs take an attacking line out.
34TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SCRUM: Chiefs win the lineout, but are driven back. The Crusaders have held the ball up and will win the scrum feed from the maul.
Grace bobbles the ball at the back of the scrum and Mo'unga clears his own line, but not to touch.
35TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Reece hack the ball downfield, but the Chiefs control and clear. Mo'unga counterattacks and the Crusaders build phases.
PENALTY: They win a penalty advantage.
36TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: Reece puts a little kick over the defensive line, but it's knocked on by the pursuers. O'Keeffe brings them back for a penalty.
37TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Mo'unga lines up a kick for the posts and slots it, Crusaders 15-10
38TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: From the kickoff, Reece receives the ball and a high shot from Nanai-Seturo, who is penalized.
39TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): McKenzie kicks high and Reece takes it well - he's been solid this half.
40TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: Chiefs building phases in the Crusaders half and under penalty advantage. Gatland throws an ambitious behind-the-back pass that goes nowhere, but O'Keeffe calls them back for the penalty.
CAPTAIN'S REFERRAL & PENALTY: Barrett lodges a captain's challenge for potential foul play. Attention seems to be on Sowakula's entry to a breakdown, but there's nothing to see - except maybe Reece colliding with the head of Jordan.
40TH MINUTE + 1ST MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY GOAL MISS: McKenzie kicks for goal, but hooks it. Halftime arrives with Crusaders leading 15-10.
1ST HALF
41ST MINUTE, SUBSTITUTION: Ah Kuoi has replaced Mitch Brown at lock for the Chiefs, whose lineout has been pretty terrible so far.
Gatland kicks off and Grace charges forward.
When the back returns to the Chiefs Lienert-Brown chips to the goal-line and the Crusaders scramble the ball dead.
42ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): From the goal-line dropout, McKenzie fields the ball deep in his own half and makes good ground over halfway.
43RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: Chiefs are building phases outside the 22 and win a penalty out in front of the posts.
44TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY GOAL MISS: McKenzie takes another shot at the posts, but leaves it to the right. Not a great time to lose his kicking touch.
45TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION: Chiefs make an important tactical change - Tiatia replaces Gatland, with McKenzie moving to first-five.
46TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Mo'unga breaks upfield, but Tiatia turns the ball over in the tackle and the Crusaders have an defensive lineout 10m out from their goal-line.
47TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): McKenzie makes a half break, but when he looks for support, he finds only Reece.
48TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Crusaders building an attack on halfway, Lowe intercepts, but is dragged down quickly by the defence.
49TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: Tiatia chips ahead and regathers inside the 22, Jacobson takes the ball within metres of the line, but Crusaders win a clearing penalty.
51ST MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), SCRUM: Crusaders win the lineout and take the ball to halfway, Mo'unga kicks high, and Jordan chases and catches. Mo'unga knocks on to end the attack.
52ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION: Bryn Hall preparing to replace Drummond at halfback for Crusaders.
53RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: Jacobson runs the ball of the back of a scrum and earns a relieving penalty for the Chiefs. Hall replaces Drummond.
PENALTY: Chiefs throw long to the lineout and McKenzie leaps to catch the ball, but is taken out in midair by Codie Taylor - what was the hooker even doing there?
YELLOW CARD: Taylor is shown a yellow card and apologizes to his All Blacks teammate - big moment in the game.
54TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY GOAL MISS: McKenzie lines up another penalty, but misses again. That three misses tonight for the guy that has kicked them to victory so many times this season.
55TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION: Ollie Norris replaces Aidan Ross in the Chiefs front row.
Havili kicks deep, but too deep, as the ball dribbles dead. Chiefs have a scrum inside Crusaders half and the champions must bring on a replacement hooker, sending Sanders to the sideline.
56TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Chiefs tries to launch an attack, ALB finds Lowe with a long pass and the winger chips ahead, escorted into touch by Jordan.
57TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: Chiefs attack breaks down, but they win a penalty. Decision time for Weber and McKenzie, do they kick for goal?
CAPTAINS REFERRAL: Weber lodges a captain's challenge for foul play by Reece on Tiatia, seeking to reduce the Crusaders to 13 men.
58TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Replays show Reece hit Tiatia high and video official insists it's directly to the head - it looked marginal though.
PENALTY & YELLOW CARD: Reece cops a yellow card and the Crusaders are two men short for the next five minutes.
59TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY GOAL CHIEFS: McKenzie finally finds his target and brings the Chiefs within two points, Crusaders 15-13
60TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Crusaders maul towards the Chiefs 22 from a lineout, but can't release - turnover to the Chiefs.
62ND MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY: Chiefs lose control of a defensive scrum on their 22, but win a clearing penalty. Boshier is the man who saved the day, but he's in pain with a knee injury.
SUBSTITUTION: Multiple replacements for each team, with Braydon Ennor returning for the Chiefs. Taylor's sin-binning is about to end and Oli Jager is injected into the front row.
63RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION: Whetu Douglas replaces Sanders, who won't return from his enforced sideline stint.
SUBSTITUTION: Mafileo replaces Ta'avao in the Chiefs front row.
Chiefs are still a man up, but Mo'unga fields a McKenzie kick and makes a break up the left touchline.
64TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), DROP GOAL CRUSADERS: Crusaders are pouring onto attack and win a penalty advantage, but Mo'unga kicks his first-ever Super Rugby drop goal to extend the lead, Crusaders 18-13
65TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): From the kickoff, Mo'unga kicks on an angle and finds touch on the Chiefs 22. It's raining now, but Crusaders fans sense their team is coming home.
66TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: Hall is penalized for running interference for Bridge. McKenzie kicks deep into the Crusaders half.
PENALTY: Chiefs win the lineout, but Blackadder gets over the ball and wins a relieving penalty.
SUBSTITUTION: Bower is replaced by Williams at prop for the Crusaders, Kapeli replaces Boshier for the Chiefs and Poihipi is on for Nankivell.
Blackadder is having a dislocated finger snapped back into place - ouch!
67TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Crusaders win an attacking lineout and maul towards the 22.
68TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: Crusaders win a penalty for offside (Player never onside) and Mo'unga will burn up some time with a kick at goal. If he's successful, it will put them more than a converted try ahead.
69TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY GOAL CRUSADERS: Mo'unga slots the penalty to extend the lead, Chiefs now need to score twice. Crusaders 21-13
70TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION: Weber is off for good now, replaced by Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi (Who is back on).
71ST MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Heavy rain now, as the Crusaders seek to extend their lead. Havili puts up a high kick, but a streaker has invaded the pitch and O'Keeffe halts play.
72ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION: Dunshea replaces Grace, so Barrett will move from lock into the loose forwards.
McKenzie kicks high, Jordan is safe, but his pass to Ennor is loose.
73RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): McKenzie darts left and finds ALB, but the ball is knocked on and a Chiefs player recovers it from offside.
74TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: Crusaders win a penalty from their defensive scrum and will clear.
75TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY & PENALTY GOAL CRUSADERS: Mo'unga kicks deep from the penalty and Tiatia tries to counterattack, but is tackled (by Mo'unga) and doesn't release. Mo'unga soaks up some time with a shot at goal and slots it, Crusaders 24-13
76TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION: Taylor is replaced by McAlister.
77TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Crusaders steal the ball on halfway and Havili kicks to the corner, but overcooks it.
78TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: Tiatia runs onto a pass and breaks towards halfway. Crusaders are deemed offside and McKenzie must kick to touch.
79TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: From the lineout, the ball goes right, but the Chiefs get tangled and are offside, as they try to conjure up a late score.
80TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Crusaders win the scrum and a clearing penalty. Coach Scott Robertson heads to the sideline for his break dance celebration.
The siren goes, but there's one last line out - Crusaders feed. They win the throw and Hall kicks to touch.
Well done, Crusaders - that's your five-peat! (''The Tu Kotahi Aotearoa Trophy is Crusaders country again'' (Or more like ''New Zealand rugby's most treasured prize, the Super Rugby Aotearoa championship, stays in Crusader land'' But I wonder the headlines would probably say: THE SRA TITLE REMAINS CRUSADERS CUP! And of course in the famous words of Sky Sport rugby commentator Grant Nisbett in commentary (Along with fellow commentators Justin Marshall (A former Southland, Canterbury, Crusaders & All Blacks player) & Ian Smith (Ex-test & one day international cricketer for New Zealand (Before in late 1998 when it is now known as the Black Caps): ''They've done it again! The Crusaders win Super Rugby Aotearoa 2021'')
2ND HALF
CRUSADERS 24 CHIEFS 13
CRUSADERS: Reece & Jordan tries; Mo'unga drop goal, conversion & 3 penalties
CHIEFS: McKenzie try, conversion & 2 penalties
And we have just heard reports across the ditch where the Reds (Coached by former Canterbury, Crusader & All Black Brad Thorn) win their 2nd overall title (And 1st in 10 years) as they win their 1st Super Rugby AU title where they redeemed themselves after missing out last year by defeating the defending SRAU champions the Brumbies at the time in the final (With Reds first five James O'Connor scoring the try that won the game & the Super Rugby AU championship but I thought that Taniela 'Tongan Thor' Tupou knocked the ball on in the lead up to JOC's match winning try (Referee Nic Berry had to look upstairs first but there was no clear evidence of Tupou losing the ball forward so the try was good but the spider cam wasn't available to the TMO) at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane (And bring on Super Rugby Trans Tasman after New Zealand's travel ban with Australia lifted (And there are no confirmed cases in Australia since the country lifted its travel ban with New Zealand compared to India which is now getting worse with over 20 million confirmed cases in the country (And the corona virus is now a modern day iteration of the bubonic plague) out of the 1 billion population (And you can't go to India like now due to the travel ban but if anyone including Indians living abroad is caught attempting to go home like for family reasons, they'll issue a behind bars sentence by sending some would be criminal to the slammer to curb that ongoing problem that they just had (And they want to avoid getting COVID-19 but the Indian Premier League season has been postponed allowing their front line Indian test cricketers (But 1st they will have to spend a fortnight in hard isolation when they arrive in England along with the New Zealand cricket team which will tour England) including captain Virat Kohli (1st it was Kapil Dev as the most popular figure in Indian cricket followed by Sachin 'The Little Master' Tendulkar & now Kohli) to prepare for the historic 1st ever World Test Championship final in Southampton against New Zealand (Twice they have been to the last 2 50 over Cricket World Cup finals, all of them ended in failure (1st it was Australia (Who were co-hosts along with NZ & were favourites going into the final based on their experience of winning Cricket World Cup titles as well as their home field advantage) in 2015 (Including one of the greatest game changers in the history of cricket when Aussie pace bowler Mitchell Starc easily knocked Black Caps captain Brendon McCullum over at the MCG in Melbourne during the 1st over) in what was New Zealand's 1st ever appearance at a CWC final followed by England (Previous hosts along with Wales (Which is part of the England cricket team) who had to win their 1st Cricket World Cup title by scoring the most boundaries than us in their 4th ever Cricket World Cup final (They went down to the West Indies in 1979 followed by Australia in 1987 (Including Mike Gatting's attempt of a reverse sweep gone wrong which proved to be the turning point after he was out caught behind by Aussie wicket-keeper Greg Dyer who took a remarkable catch which cost England a chance of winning the Cricket World Cup) & Pakistan in 1992 (Also including Wasim Akram's winning spell for his all round performance of 3 wickets for 49 runs with the ball & 33 runs off 18 deliveries with the bat before legendary skipper Imran Khan's last ever wicket in his cricket career when he dismissed Richard Illingworth handing Pakistan their 1st & only CWC crown) & they were also favourites going into the match because of their home ground advantage as well as being ranked number 1 in the ODI world at the time) at the last Cricket World Cup in 2019 (Including West Indian born English fast bowler Jofra Archer bowling a yorker to Martin Guptill preventing him from scoring the winning runs before South African born Englishman Jason Roy's incredible throw to English wicket-keeper Jos Buttler to run Guptill out off the last ball of the dramatic 1st ever CWC final super over at Lord's in London (And in the famous words of former cricket player turned commentator Ian Smith (Who is in fact New Zealand's equivalent of the late Richie Benaud of Australia because he was once the voice of New Zealand cricket when Sky Sport had the broadcasting rights of cricket here in New Zealand before Spark Sport had taken over since April last year) ''He's got it, England have won the World Cup!'') in which was the Black Caps most recent appearance at a Cricket World Cup final) with the Trans-Tasman travel bubble now open) by 3 points.
And finally before I wrap this blog up in style that my thoughts to Scott Robertson (He should've taken over from Steve Hansen as the new All Black coach but it wasn't to be as he missed out on the job in 2019 after the last Rugby World Cup because it went to current coach Ian Foster instead) will be after the Crusaders success in Super Rugby Aotearoa this year:
''There is nothing for you down that path, you know that, right?''
So that is my 415th blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 35th of this year.
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