Super Rugby semifinals: History favours Chiefs and Crusaders
The Chiefs host the Brumbies on Saturday night.
Photo:
Michael Thomas / action press
Chiefs v Brumbies
Kick-off: 7:05pm Saturday, 14 June
FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
Live blog updates on RNZ
Crusaders v Blues
Kick-off: 7:05pm Friday, 13 June
Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch
Live blog updates on RNZ
It is semifinal time in Super Rugby with three New Zealand sides and an Australian team seeking to cement their place in the final.
The Crusaders and Chiefs are hosts and favourites to beat the defending champion Blues and ACT Brumbies respectively, but the visitors have plenty of reasons to be motivated and will fancy their chances of an upset.
Photo:
Jeremy Ward/Photosport
The Chiefs were beaten by the Blues last Saturday but still advanced to the semifinals by virtue of being the highest ranked loser from the opening round of the playoffs.
Chiefs lock Naitoa Ah Kuoi said they're determined to make the most of their second chance.
"We were top of the table coming into the playoffs which gave us a lifeline and we can't waste it," Ah Kuoi said.
"We've got to be grateful that we're here and make sure we nail that opportunity."
The Chiefs, beaten finalists the last two seasons, haven't won a title since 2013, and Ah Kuoi said that, and last week's defeat, has them fired up for Saturday night's do or die clash with the Brumbies in Hamilton.
"For us there's no motivation needed besides the fact that it's a semifinal," he said.
"We know what's going to be coming, we know they're going to be coming hard for us at home.
"We're trying to make sure our home field is a fortress and that didn't happen last week. We're trying to make amends and also do one better than the previous years."
Naitoa Ah Kuoi.
Photo:
Jeremy Ward / Photosport
History is against the Brumbies but they will be buoyed by the Blues victory over the Chiefs as the Australians seek to win their first Super Rugby title since 2004.
The Brumbies have lost four straight semifinals in New Zealand and haven't won a final four playoff since 2013.
They're also underdogs with the bookies.
First-five Noah Lolesio said the Blues proved the Chiefs could be beaten at home.
"It shows that if you show up physically with the right mindset, you put yourself in a good position to win," Lolesio said.
"That's where our heads are at as a team. We know, backs and forwards, it's going to be a physical battle."
Noah Lolesio scores a try.
Photo:
Mark Metcalfe / Getty
Lolesio has extra motivation to keep the Brumbies season alive.
The Wallabies playmaker is heading to Japan at the end of the year, leaving the Super Rugby team he's been with since 2020.
"I'm giving everything into this game and this weekend if selected. Knowing that it could be my last," Lolesio said.
"This organisation [Brumbies] have been so good to me every year since I came to Canberra as a 17-year-old.
"The last three or four years have led to this moment and I can't wait."
On Friday night, the Crusaders host the defending champion Blues and history is also against the visitors.
The Crusaders have never lost a playoff game at home, winning all 30 finals matches in Christchurch.
If they beat the Blues they will secure a record eighth home Super Rugby final.
Coach Rob Penney said the Crusaders love playing in front of their fans.
"Hopefully get a great crowd in," Penney said.
"That always gives the boys a real impetus and a lot of energy. The Crusader crowds, there's none better."
Photo:
Joseph Johnson/ActionPress
Blues coach Vern Cotter insisted they're not intimidated by the Crusaders home playoff record.
"That's the key thing. Going down to Canterbury, we're aware of their record. Thirty without losing. One day they're going to lose and they've got the pressure of that on top of them.
"They're going to lose one day. When I was [coach] at [French club] Clermont, we won 77 [home] games in a row and, in the end, the pressure was heavy.
"One day we knew it was going to happen. They're on 30 and one day its going to happen. Will it be this week? I don't know but the boys will be up to push it as best they can."
Cotter believed the defending champions will rise to the occasion.
"The guys know how to win big games," Cotter said.
"That's what it's about, winning big games and enjoying it. Enjoying helping each other. It could be 80 minutes, it could be longer. We're actually looking at extra time stuff, so the boys are preparing themselves for a rugged evening."
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