Super Rugby: Crusaders christen new One NZ Stadium with win over Waratahs in Christchurch – Phil Gifford

If ever there was a city that deserved the sort of magic night that opened the new One New Zealand Stadium with the Crusaders’ 35-20 win over the New South Wales Waratahs, it’s Christchurch.

The devastating 2011 earthquake touched virtually everyone in Christchurch. The city is small enough, as I discovered, having lived there for 14 of the past 24 years, that among the large group of people whose lives were lost or forever affected by the tragedy were friends, family and workmates.

So, as a rugby fan, it feels fitting that the sport, a powerful unifying interest in the area, can now play a full, joyful role in rewarding the resilience that’s been shown by so many people in Canterbury. Sellout crowds are a reflection of local pride in the magnificent new venue.

A round of applause too, for the Crusaders, who have been a richly deserved focal point for uniting supporters. It’s helped that as well as extraordinary performances on the field in Super Rugby, the off-field attitude of those in the squad has been shaped over the years by some of the most decent people you could meet.

From 1997, when Sir Wayne Smith took on the coaching role and appointed Todd Blackadder to captain the side, there has never been a moment, despite the team’s remarkable collection of titles, when you could detect even a hint of the “We’re The Beatles, and you’re not” attitude that can accompany huge sporting success. Current coach Rob Penney and captain David Havili, a totally grounded pair, are continuing to foster that mindset.

Shaken, but not hugely stirred

The Super Round, played entirely in Christchurch, drew sellout crowds and almost produced a huge upset, as the Queensland Reds clawed back from being down 33-26 to the Blues with just six minutes to go to force extra time, ultimately losing 36-33. When the dust had settled at Te Kaha, the Hurricanes, after a terrific 45-12 thrashing of the Brumbies, were on 35 competition points, equal with the Chiefs, who had a more competitive game against the Fijian Drua before winning 42-22. The Blues are third, on 33 points.

Winning a bonus point against the Tahs may ultimately prove vital for the Crusaders. In fourth place on 26 points, they’re in the golden circle of the top six, which is what’s needed to make the playoffs. Every point on the table will be important, with two matches against the Canes and one each against the Blues and the Chiefs making the way home a fraught one.

The Highlanders are the only Kiwi side outside the top six, in eighth with the Waratahs in seventh, and the Drua, the Force and Moana Pasifika making up the rest of the 11 sides.

Looking like champions

The weekend finished with the Chiefs showing why they look most likely to be the side that’ll be the biggest hurdle for other title challengers, whether it’s the Canes, the Blues or the end-of-season experts, the Crusaders. The 42-22 win against the Fijian Drua was much harder-earned than the score indicated, but from a formidable tight five to huge speed out wide, there are no soft spots to exploit in the men from Hamilton.

A double threat

Dramatically experimenting with players’ positions is usually regarded by Kiwi coaches with the same enthusiasm they have for end-of-season contract negotiations. So Penney moving Leicester Fainga’anuku from the backline to openside flanker to face the Waratahs in such a hugely important game was pretty amazing in itself.

What bordered on the astonishing was that Fainga’anuku didn’t just play well, he was so outstanding that being named player of the match was the most obvious decision of the night. Technically, his tackling was impeccable and having been good enough to play in the backline at the last World Cup, his attacking play, with all due respect to fulltime flankers, was on another level.

Just what decision All Blacks coach Dave Rennie will make about where he should place Fainga’anuku is the sort of problem any coach would be happy to have to deal with.

Filling family boots

There were many other excellent performers for the Crusaders, from wing Macca Springer, who scored the try of the game in the 67th minute, to Dallas McLeod and Braydon Ennor, two experienced outside backs performing with the energy of rookies, to Codie Taylor, the master of scoring off a rolling maul.

Also outstanding was Dom Gardiner, the 24-year-old loose forward who had one of his best, typically robust, fearless games. His father, Angus Gardiner, was a dynamic flanker for Canterbury and the Crusaders in the late 1990s. Think Angus with an extra 11kg of hard-edged muscle and that’s Dom.

Pass the hat?

It’s little wonder really that Hurricanes coach Clark Laidlaw suggested, albeit with his tongue firmly in cheek, that perhaps journalists might like to start a fundraising campaign to keep Canes wing Fehi Fineanganofo in New Zealand. The former Auckland Grammar and All Blacks Sevens star had just scored four tries in the Canes’ 45-12 Saturday afternoon win over the ACT Brumbies, and, as Laidlaw accurately put it, he’s now providing his own highlight reel every week.

Unfortunately, it’s too late to cancel the contract that will take Fineanganofo to England to play for Newcastle. If the circumstances were different, his 14 tries in Super Rugby Pacific this year would have certainly put him on the All Blacks shortlist, with some other exciting, gifted finishers.

As well as Fineanganofo, there was another international-class performance at first five-eighth from Ruben Love who, as well as immaculate goalkicking, offered some clever, beautifully executed, touches on attack.

Grit won out

As nerve-wracking as it would have been for the substantial number of Blues fans who travelled from Auckland for the round in Christchurch, the extra-time 36-33 victory for the Blues over the Queensland Reds was hugely exciting for the sellout crowd on Saturday night, even for those without emotional involvement in the result.

Ultimately, it felt fitting that a key man in the Blues holding his nerve in a game in Canterbury would be a former Christ’s College First XV captain and Maadi Cup-winning rower in lock Sam Darry. A giant of a man at 2.03m, Darry is still only 25 and has a technique and attitude that should see his All Blacks career, that began last year, flourish. If the Blues do win the title this year, you could point to Darry as the epitome of the selfless commitment coach Vern Cotter enjoys from his players.

Ending on a sad note

On a long weekend when sellout crowds helped celebrate a new era for Canterbury and Crusaders rugby, there was a melancholy backdrop to Moana Pasifika’s gutsy but ultimately futile effort against the Highlanders. No matter how well Moana play now, it looks like the team is likely to be shutting down at the of this season.

For a moment, at the 66-minute mark, when Augustine Pulu scored the scariest looking try of the year, tumbling head first over the attempted tackle of Folau Fakatava, it looked as if Moana, seven-to-one outsiders, would score shock win, but the Landers regrouped to take the match 27-17.

Phil Gifford is a Contributing Sports Writer for NZME. He is one of the most-respected voices in New Zealand sports journalism.