Crusaders win Super Rugby final in a familiar ending; Chiefs regret unlucky breaks

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The final of Super Rugby Pacific on Saturday had the feeling of a familiar ritual.

The Crusaders won the title for the 12th time since the tournament began and for the seventh time in the last seven years. Head coach Scott Robertson celebrated with a break dance for his seventh championship from seven years in charge.

And the Chiefs became the seventh straight team to win their way through to a Super Rugby final only to find the Crusaders a last and insuperable obstacle to their title ambition.

In this year’s ritual, however, there was to be a twist. It was to be the last of its kind.

Robertson will not lead the Christchurch-based team again. He has stepped down to await his accession to the job of coaching the All Blacks. With him go a number of players who will disperse to various parts of the world, including lock Sam Whitelock to France and flyhalf Richie Mo'unga to Japan.

There will be no putting the band back together. The next Crusaders team to win a Super Rugby title will be a new group under a new coach making its own history and ritual.

The Chiefs, deprived of this year’s championship, will return with a few exceptions to try to complete the mission next year, their appetite sharpened by the promise they developed through the season and the nature of their defeat on Saturday.

They made the pace in the tournament throughout the year, winning a club record 10 straight games before their only loss of the regular season against the Queensland Reds. They won top seeding and home advantage for the playoffs and won tight matches against the Reds and ACT Brumbies before being dragged inevitably into the orbit of the Crusaders on Saturday.

There were long periods in which they seemed in control of the final, especially at the start of the second half when a try to fullback Shaun Stevenson and penalty to Damian McKenzie gave them a 20-15 lead.

The Crusaders wrested back the lead with the second try of the match to hooker Codie Taylor before McKenzie kicked for goal again in the 76th minute and from 52 meters out. Had he succeeded it might have been the last word in the match and the end of the Crusaders’ winning run.

But the ball fell short and Mo’unga kicked a penalty in the 80th minute to seal the Crusaders’ win. Mo’unga also had scored a try in the 32nd minute which contributed to the Crusaders’ 15-10 halftime lead. It was a pivotal moment in the match and one which left the Chiefs embittered.

The try followed a clear forward pass from the Crusaders which was missed by the referee and his assistants. Had it been seen, the Chiefs would have had a scrum and the chance of an attacking position within the Crusaders’ 22. Instead, the Crusaders won a lineout from a scrambled clearance and Mo’unga scored a try that made the difference between the teams.

“I think the biggest call, momentum swinger, was what I thought was a clear and obvious forward pass before halftime,” Chiefs head coach Clayton McMillan said. “That gives us a scrum (and) we can apply some pressure down that end of the field. They score the play after — that’s a big moment.

“I don’t want to bag the referee. The crowd did that at the end of the game — maybe that says something.”

McMillan saw injustice for a Chiefs team which seemed to have done everything to earn its first title since 2013.

“We really felt deep down that it was our time,” McMillan said. “I remember coming in here three years ago. We looked at our roster and even though we came close a couple of times, we always thought that this year was going to be the year that was our time. A couple of moments and it could’ve been.”

Robertson acknowledged the Chiefs were unlucky to lose.

“They would have deserved it and well done,” he said. “They’ve had a great season and Clayton has put a good squad together.

“The Chiefs were unbelievable. Their defense was incredible but it’s small margins. I’m really thankful. To finish on this note makes it even more special because it could have gone the other way.”

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