Brumbies' Super Rugby playoff journey continues: Can they break the New Zealand hoodoo?
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The ACT Brumbies will become the latest Australian team to take on the New Zealand playoff hoodoo in Super Rugby after beating the Wellington-based Hurricanes in Canberra.
The record for Australian teams in playoff matches in New Zealand now stands at 0-20 after the Queensland Reds were beaten 32-12 by the Crusaders in Christchurch.
The Brumbies will face the Chiefs in Hamilton in next weekend's semifinals after the Chiefs were beaten 20-19 by the Auckland-based Blues who scored and converted a try after the fulltime siren. The Chiefs still progressed to the next playoff round as the highest-ranked loser but have lost top seeding to the Crusaders.
The match between the Brumbies and Hurricanes might have been a dead rubber if the Crusaders and Chiefs, the top-two seeds, both had won their playoff matches. Then, both teams in Canberra would have progressed to the semifinals either as the winner or highest-ranked loser.
The Hurricanes title hopes have now foundered in Canberra in three of the last four years after they lost to the Brumbies in quarterfinals in 2022 and 2023.
'We didn't get the job done tonight. That Brumbies team really took it up a notch and showed why they've been so successful here,' Hurricanes captain DuPlessis Kirifi said.
The Brumbies again are the last Australian team standing in the playoffs after reaching the semifinals for the third straight time.
'We're just looking at the Chiefs in Hamilton next week,' coach Stephen Larkham said. 'But we're hoping that the Blues can knock off the Crusaders and we come back here in two weeks for a grand final.'
Crusaders beat the chill
Brute force and home advantage were key factors in the Crusaders' win over the Reds.
The Reds had to come from 23 degrees and fine weather in Brisbane to 4 degrees and a rain-soaked pitch in Christchurch. While they anticipated the conditions and tried to replicate them in training, they couldn't fully prepare for a match played in conditions in which the Crusaders excel.
'Typical Christchurch weather: cold, wet and dark and we love it,' said Crusaders scrumhalf Noah Hotham whose brilliant second half try spelled the end of the Reds' hopes and improved the Crusaders winning record in home playoffs to 30-0.
The Reds couldn't match the power of the Crusaders' scrum and conceded penalties which gave the Crusaders a footing in Reds territory. At the same time, the Reds took too long to match the Crusaders' numbers at breakdowns.
Captain David Havili was a force in the collision area which the Crusaders also dominated.
'They were all over us at the breakdown and collision area and we just couldn't get into our cycle,' Reds captain Tate McDermott said. 'They're really good at disrupting your ball and slowing it down and they did a good job of that.'
Hotham may have helped his All Blacks chances with a strong individual performance behind a dominant pack.
Blues beat the odds
As Rieko Ioane faced the television cameras after the Blues beat the New South Wales Waratahs to qualify for the Super Rugby playoffs, the Blues and All Blacks center said 'as the saying goes, shouldn't have let us get one.'
It was a nod to history.
In 2004 the Boston Red Sox came from 3-0 down to beat the New York Yankees and win their first World Series in 86 years. At 3-0 down Sox outfielder Kevin Millar said 'don't let us get one.'
And in the 2023 NBA Eastern Conference finals, the Boston Celtics were 3-0 down against the Miami Heat. 'Don't let us get one,' Celtics player Jaylen Brown said before his team rallied to force game seven.
From Ioane, it was prophetic. After 'getting one' by making the playoffs in sixth place, the Blues have now stretched their defense of the Super Rugby title into the semifinals.
The Chiefs were favored to win Saturday after beating the Blues twice during the regular season. But the Blues kept their season alive with a converted try after the fulltime siren.
___
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
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