ADVERTISEMENT
RugbyDump
REGISTER
LOGIN
ADVERTISEMENT
RugbyDump
Saturday Jun 18, 2022

Huge upset in Super Rugby final

The Auckland Blues have had their finest season in recent history. After a few years in the wilderness, the Blues topped the table ahead of fellow New Zealand sides; The Crusaders and The Hurricanes as well as Australian outfit the Brumbies.

ADVERTISEMENT

All of these sides made up the top 4 of the league, and incidentally, all 4 made it into the semi-finals of the playoffs after some truly entertaining games against the rest of the top 8.

After seeing off both The Brumbies and The Hurricanes in the semis, it was the old rivalry of The Blues Vs The Crusaders at Eden Park in Auckland.

After a dominant season from the Auckland Blues, they had every right to walk into this final with their heads held high. They were pushed hard in the semi-final against The Brumbies, but squeezed out a result, thus proving they could see out games in high-pressure situations.

The Blues were on a 15-game win streak before this final, so there was no doubt they were feeling confident.

The issue is that the side they were facing is not one to be taken for granted. Christchurch-based side, The Crusaders, are the most successful side in the Pacific-region competition. With their lineup featuring a huge number of All-Black players, it was certainly the Blues’ toughest challenge this season.

The conditions were poor. The wind and the rain caused havoc at the Blues set-piece. Botching line out after line out, the Blues never got into the game in the first half.

ADVERTISEMENT

Richie Mo’unga kept the Crusaders ticking along with his boot, always keeping the Blues on the back foot.

The Crusaders saw themselves to a comfortable and well-deserved 0-13 lead at halftime.

The Blues fought themselves back in the game in the 59th minute, after scrum-half Finlay Christie went over to bring the scores back to within 6 points once converted.

It was not to be however, with Sevu Reece scoring his second try of the game with 4 minutes remaining to take the game beyond the Blues’ reach, and place the title in The Crusaders’ hands.

ADVERTISEMENT

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by SuperRugbyPacific (@superrugby)

The final result was:

Blues 7-21 Crusaders

A regular fan at the game gave us his thoughts about the atmosphere at Eden Park:

“Atmosphere was great till halfway through the second half, then hope ran dry”

Blues captain, Beauden Barrett, understandably disappointed had the following to say:

“It’s really disappointing. We had a good season, we wanted to come here and do a job here tonight. It’s a tough one to swallow,”

A difficult one for Blues fans to take after such a promising season.

Related Articles

  • 35 WEEKS AGO

    Jeff Wilson Blast Scott Robertson

  • 35 WEEKS AGO

    Steve Hansen defends Ian Foster

  • 36 WEEKS AGO

    All Blacks make coaching changes



ADVERTISEMENT

Great Tries

  • 6 DAYS AGO

    Incredible Camera Work During URC Clash Shows Rugby Player’s Athleticism

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Heart Breaking Six Nations Ending For Italy As Scotland Score Long Range Try

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Montpellier Number Eight Zach Mercer Outlandish Attacking Skill

  • 7 WEEKS AGO

    Damian Penaud Pulls Off a "van der Merwe" in Outrageous French Try

  • 7 WEEKS AGO

    Ireland Winger James Lowe With World Class Finish In Titanic Battle With France

View All

Big Hits & Dirty Play

  • 1 DAY AGO

    Italian player cops nine week ban following on field bust up

  • 4 DAYS AGO

    Close Up Angle Of La Rochelle Secondrow Will Skelton Laying Into Opposition

  • 5 DAYS AGO

    Referee Luke Pearce Gets Hit Hard In Harlequins vs Saracens Clash

  • 6 DAYS AGO

    Owen Farrell On The Receiving End Of An Illegal Hit

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Refereeing Legend Nigel Owens Breaks Down Freddie Steward Incident

View All

See It To Believe It

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    Ardie Savea Moment Of Magic In Super Rugby Aotearoa

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    'Armchair athletes' berate Arundell's seriously impressive bench press

  • 7 WEEKS AGO

    Worcester Warriors - The End

  • 9 WEEKS AGO

    Sevens magic as 'headed' try brings stadium to its feet

  • 10 WEEKS AGO

    Almost 35,000 have now signed petition to reverse new grassroots tackle laws

View All

Funnies

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Whole Irish squad turn up to teammates parents house for drinking session

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Jonathan Sexton Fantastic Comeback Caught On Ref Mic

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Hilarious Footage Of English Players Post Leg Day Workout

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Mack Hansen leaves viewers in stitches with hilarious post-match interview mistake

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    A Look Back At Rugby’s Greatest Ever Film

View All

Amateur

  • 12 WEEKS AGO

    You Won’t See Many Better Than This Silky-Smooth Try From Llandovery RFC

  • 12 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes As Caldy RFC Hand Ealing First Championship Defeat Of The Season

  • 35 WEEKS AGO

    Dubious Score Decides Result Of Rugby's Biggest Schools Fixture

  • 35 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes At School Boys Rugby Match

  • 35 WEEKS AGO

    The Next Dominant Backrow?

View All

Player Features

  • 1 DAY AGO

    Italian player cops nine week ban following on field bust up

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Youth and experience combine in an effort to repeat Six Nations upset

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Wales international releases emotional statement after being offered contract that isn’t enough to feed family

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Ardie Savea causes outrage with ‘throat slitting’ gesture

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Smith, Marchant and Murley released from England camp to take part in 'Big Game 14'

View All