The Crusaders have apparently won their 6th Super Rugby Final over the Hurricanes in Wellington. Unfortunately the only person to see the game was referee Kaplan, so we'll have to take his word for it!

From Keo
Saders win Super Farce
Saturday 27 May 2006

The Crusaders claimed their sixth Super Rugby title when they beat the Hurricanes 19-12 in almost impossible conditions at Jade Stadium on Saturday. The home side led 6-3 at the break.

A thick blanket of fog turned the first Vodacom Super 14 final into a total farce, as two teams with sublime attacking skills were forced to put boot to ball on over 100 occasions.

So thick was the fog that Sky NZ had to make use of two TV commentators - one for each side of the field. Most of the spectators at the top of the grandstands opted to leave the ground in the first half and watch the remainder of the match on TV. The others saw the game only when play was right in front of them.

In the end, the final was decided by a Crusaders try midway through the second half. With the scores locked at 9-all, flyhalf Dan Carter switched with outside centre Casey Laulala, who crashed over next to the posts.

Carter missed his first penalty attempt of the night, but then succeeded with four penalties and a conversion, for a personal tally of 14 points. The Crusaders dominated territory (82%), mauled three times as much as the Hurricanes, and deserved to win the game.

The Hurricanes spent most of the match in their own 22 and the official match statistics reflected the dominance. The Crusaders were camped in the Canes 22 for 23 minutes, while the Canes spent one solitary minute in the home team 22. The Canes got their first lineout throw on 40 minutes and the lineout advantage favoured the Crusaders 21-5.

The possession was also a 60 to 40 percent affair and if the conditions had been simply reasonable the scoreboard may well have reflected this superiority. As it was, it seemed a struggle to see the players lined up next to each other.

And with Carter at flyhalf he was always going to dicate where the game would be played. Also, his control of the flow of the game meant it was never in doubt who was going to win.

“We knew it would be a grind, and it definitely wasn’t pretty,” said Crusaders captain Richie McCaw. “We kept things much tighter and played the game at their end of the paddock. In the end, our composure won it for us.”

Crusaders - Try: Casey Laulala. Conversion: Dan Carter. Penalties: Carter (4).
Hurricanes - Penalties: Piri Weepu, David Holwell, Jimmy Gopperth (2).

By Simon Borchardt