Analysis: The red and blacks have home advantage against the Chiefs but also a belief in a vastly improved defensive system, writes Patrick McKendry.
There were moments during the finale to the Crusaders’ Super Rugby Pacific semifinal victory over the Blues in Christchurch when the visitors seemed more likely to score than not – just as they did in their win over the Chiefs the previous week.
That they could not cross the line despite putting together 38 consecutive phases with their possession of a wide array of attacking weapons represents a huge shift for the Crusaders, one that may even qualify as a quiet revolution, which will give them a huge amount of confidence ahead of the competition showpiece on Saturday night.
The Crusaders have lost only three matches this season – one fewer than the Chiefs, who could not withstand the Blues’ late pressure in their qualifier defeat at Waikato Stadium.
But those losses – two to the Chiefs (home and away), and one to Moana Pasifika (home) – were heavy and characterised by a defensive system that was either not fit for purpose at the time or not understood well enough by the players.
In February, the Chiefs scored five unanswered second-half tries against the Crusaders in a 49-24 thrashing in Hamilton.
The next month the Crusaders leaked four first-half tries to Moana Pasifika – two to skipper Ardie Savea – and, after battling back to 31-22, promptly let in two more in three minutes as the visitors ran away with an historic 45-29 win.
The red and black ship was righted in the form of four consecutive wins before a bye, but the Chiefs wobbled it again with an extraordinary 35-19 victory in May after coming back from a 19-10 halftime deficit.
The Chiefs scored three tries after the break, with Damian McKenzie kicking two penalties for good measure. It was a crushing victory on many levels.
All three Crusaders’ defeats had one thing in common: the red and blacks were overpowered and leaked tries in bunches. They appeared to have no answers to whatever questions the opposition were asking.
Since then they have strung together victories over the Waratahs (away), Highlanders (home), Brumbies (away), Reds in the home qualifier, and their remarkable semifinal 21-14 win over the Blues at home last Friday.
They did their latest win the hard way, coming back from a 14-0 deficit and then withstanding an extraordinary amount of pressure to prevent the visitors from taking the match into extra-time.
It’s no wonder that Crusaders head coach Rob Penney made a special mention of the team’s defence coach Matt Todd, a former All Blacks and Crusaders loose forward, afterwards.
“The last few minutes was just heart and soul. Toddy has done great work with the D, it’s been building all year,” Penney said.
“It was just awesome, the boys dug deep and showed how much it means to them and how much they care about this place. And they wanted to get another week, which is just such a joy.”
The Blues deserve credit for their ability to retain the ball for so long in what was a frantic finish, but, before that, their discipline issues made it difficult to maintain pressure.
"Because it was such a tight contest, you paid for any slight error,” coach Vern Cotter said afterwards. “And I think that penalty count 16-9 was against us.
“That in itself is hard in a knockout game, and credit to the Crusaders. They move on and the season finishes for us.''
After his team’s 37-17 semifinal defeat to the Chiefs, Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham made reference to the difficulty of playing away from home in finals matches.
Hosting this match – the Crusaders’ first home grand final since 2019 – is a big advantage. After all, their record in home playoffs now stands at 31-0.
But beyond that the belief and understanding in their defensive system in the cold and wet conditions they seem to love so much could give them an edge in Christchurch.
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