WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The Christchurch-based Crusaders have won seven Super Rugby titles in the past seven years, but this year’s playoffs will be notable mostly for their absence.
The Crusaders’ last-ditch bid for a quarter-final spot fell short as they shuffled out of contention in the tumultuous race for places in the last eight on the final weekend of the regular season.
Their home win over Moana Pacifica on Friday briefly lifted the Crusaders to eighth, but they fell back to ninth when Fiji’s Drua beat the Melbourne Rebels in Lautoka in the first of Saturday’s four games.
The result meant that the Drua and Rebels both made the play-offs, the Drua for the second consecutive season and the Rebels for the first time in their 14-year history which is also their final year in Super Rugby.
Rugby Australia announced on Thursday, shortly before the Rebels headed to Fiji, that the Melbourne team’s license to compete in Super Rugby would not be renewed next year due to financial instability. This means the Rebels club will disband once the playoffs are over.
That was one of the many somber notes in the weekend round. Several notable careers have ended with the Crusaders’ ban: All Blacks backs Joe Moody and Owen Franks and center Ryan Crotty retire at the end of the season. All were World Cup winners.
Franks, 36, will move to Japan where he will become the forwards coach for the Japanese national team under Australian coach Eddie Jones. Moody, 35, will likely return to farming if he is not convinced to give the Crusaders another season. Crotty’s plans are not clear.
“I feel like I’ve got some life left in these bones to throw another season of legs,” Moody said before Friday’s game. “At the same time, if that doesn’t happen, you’ll probably catch me in the back blocks somewhere playing with some cattle or sitting on a tractor.”
Moana Pacifica also said goodbye to players who were a key part of her three years in Super Rugby. Former Wallabies prop Sekope Kepu and flyhalf Christian Lealiifano are also retiring from Super Rugby. Kepu won a Super Rugby title with the New South Wales Waratahs and is expected to continue playing in New Zealand at provincial level.
The Crusaders organization announced a review of the 2024 season almost as soon as the final whistle blew in Lautoka, ending the team’s playoff chances.
“Regardless of the result or the place in the table, we remain proud of our team, our club and the tremendous work that went into the whole organization to deliver the season it was,” said chief executive Colin Mainsbridge.
“A lot of results didn’t go well and sometimes our performance on the pitch was not at the level we expected from ourselves. Thin margins determine results and table position and we’ve lost six of our games by less than seven points.”
The Wellington-based Hurricanes finished top of the table after taking a bonus point from their final regular-season game against the Dunedin-based Highlanders. The Hurricanes and Auckland-based Blues entered the final round of the regular season level on 51 points, but the Blues lost top spot when the Hamilton-Chiefs scored a last minute try which denied the Blues a bonus point.
The Blues were disappointed to lose first place, which carries home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. But coach Vern Kotter looked on the bright side.
“If you had given me that score at the start of the season, I would have taken it for the Chiefs,” Cotter said. “The danger of finishing first is suddenly your feet come off the ground.
“We know we have a lot of work to do. It wasn’t a total performance.”
The standings and quarter-final fixtures have now been confirmed with the Hurricanes finishing first, the Blues second, the ACT Brumbies third, the Chiefs fourth, the Queensland Reds fifth, the Highlanders sixth, Drua seventh and the Rebels eighth.’
The Chiefs play the Reds in Hamilton and the Hurricanes play the Rebels in Wellington on Friday. The Blues play Drua in Auckland and the Brumbies play the Highlanders in Canberra on Saturday.
___
AP Rugby: