WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The Chiefs and Hurricanes’ one-sided wins over the Crusaders and Blues in the semifinals of Super Rugby have again raised questions around the health of the Southern Hemisphere tournament.
The Chiefs beat the defending champion Crusaders 49-12 in Hamilton, New Zealand and the Hurricanes beat the Auckland-based Blues 57-21 in Wellington in matches that were little more than walkovers. They followed quarterfinals in which the Hurricanes beat the ACT Brumbies 66-12 and the Chiefs beat the Queensland Reds 46-21.
The Hurricanes and Chiefs will meet in the final in Wellington next Saturday.
The playoffs should be the toughest and tightest matches of the season but one semifinal was decided by halftime and the other saw a second half landslide, pointing to an uncompetitive tournament.
The Blues had an average season and were only in the semifinals as lucky losers after being beaten 52-31 by the Crusaders in the quarterfinals. They finished with an 8-8 record.
The Crusaders finished with an 8-7 record and appear a team in decline after winning the tournament last year for the 13th time. Many key players are nearing retirement and younger players are not yet stepping up.
Super Rugby’s governing body may now have to reconsider the lucky loser concept and perhaps move to a more simple four-team playoffs system.
The Hurricanes have had a superb season and may be the best attacking team in Super Rugby history. The nine tries they scored on Saturday carried their tally for the season to 104 tries. No other team has scored more than 100 tries in a season.
The Hurricanes lead the tournament in points scored, line breaks, meters gained and in all the metrics that underline superiority on attack while retaining the best defensive record in the tournament.
The first half of Saturday’s semifinal was tight as the Blues slowed the game down and the Hurricanes misfired when they tried to lift the tempo. The Hurricanes led 19-14 at halftime.
After halftime it was a completely different match. The Hurricanes dominated the breakdown, preventing the Blues from controlling the speed of the game. They scored three tries in the third quarter and coasted to victory, bamboozling the Blues with their slick passing and support play.
Hooker Asafo Aumua’s try was a high point. Jordie Barrett sent a kick wide to replacement winger Kini Naholo who took the ball above his head and dropped it into the arms of Aumua who pushed off one defender and ran over another to score.
Cam Roigard was outstanding against at scrumhalf and the synchronicity between the Hurricanes’ backs and loose forwards was exemplary.
“It’s pretty special,” Hurricanes co-captain Jordie Barrett said. “We’ve had a lot of hurt and there’s a few scars there (from previous playoff losses) so we’re just massively grateful we put ourselves in this position, to play at home next week against a red-hot Chiefs side.”
The Chiefs’ win was the inverse of the Hurricanes’. They came out firing and led 42-5 by halftime.
The Chiefs knew that to beat the Crusaders you have to pressure and dominate them and they did just that, keeping up a relentless pace that gave the Crusaders no chance to settle.
The key to the first half rout was the decisive first-touch play of the Chiefs, both forward and backs. The Crusaders repeatedly turned over possession and when they did the first Chiefs player to touch the ball always made positive attacking decisions.
There was a collective intention when winning possession to take the ball immediately at the defensive line with support. Under constant stress, the Crusaders defense was unable to combine or regroup.
Damian McKenzie again was an astute conductor of the attack from flyhalf. In midfield, the former Wallaby Lalakai Foketi was able to break the defense and distribute. Kyren Taumoefolau scored an early double while Leroy Carter came off the bench to play a major role.
Hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho was at his best with the ball in hand, constantly destructive.
In contrast to the first, the second half was disappointing. Perhaps trying too hard, the Chiefs lost the cohesion of the first half and added only one more try.
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
FILE - Billy Proctor, of the Hurricanes, runs with the ball during the Super Rugby Pacific Round 1 match against the Queensland Reds in Townsville, Australia, Feb. 25, 2023. (Scott Radford-Chisholm/AAP Image, File)
