Super Rugby Pacific: Johnny McNicholl hat-trick sends Crusaders past Blues with ease

Saturday, 6 June 2026

At One NZ Stadium, Christchurch: Crusaders 52 (Sevu Reece try 12min, Johnny McNicholl 3 tries 21min, 50min, 63min, David Havili try 30min, Chay Fihaki try 33min, Taha Kemara try 38min, Manumaua Letiu try 74min; Kemara 5 cons, Rivez Reihana con), Blues 31 (Sam Nock try 2min, Anton Segner try 27min, Xavi Taele try 54min, Payton Spencer try 69min, Caleb Clarke try 77min; Zarn Sullivan 3 cons). HT: 33-14.

Red card: Malachi Wrampling (Blues) 19min.

And still undefeated at home in playoffs footy … the Crusaders joined the Hurricanes in next week’s Super Rugby Pacific semifinals with a statement 52-31 victory over the Blues at their fabulous new home stadium that suggests they remain very much in the championship conversation.

The 13-time Super Rugby champions won this qualifying final matchup between third and fourth with ease, eight tries to five, exacerbated by the first-half sending-off of Blues No 8 Malachi Wrampling that they cashed in on splendidly, and spurred by a hat-trick of tries to fill-in fullback extraordinaire Johnny McNicholl.

No one makes you pay for knucklehead plays like the Red and Blacks on their game.

And they are very much on top of things at the moment, extending their late-season win streak to four, their home finals record to an incredible 33-0 and their utter stranglehold over the Blues who have won just once in Christchurch in the last 22 years, and never at the post-season stage.

For their efforts the Crusaders, who haven’t lost a finals game since 2016, will meet the Chiefs in the Friday night semifinal in Hamilton – a potential barnburner – after the Waikato outfit got past the Reds in their qualifying final.

The Blues, riding a four-game losing streak, will meet the impressive Hurricanes in the capital on Saturday night as the highest qualified of the three defeated sides.

The Blues never recovered from the 19th-minute red card by Wrampling for an awful shoulder to the head of star home loosie Leicester Fainga’anuku that, simply, offered zero mitigating circumstances, and put his team into a dreadful hole. The Crusaders’ 26-7 run which followed the incident effectively decided this contest.

On a night of flowing football that thrilled another sellout crowd at Te Kaha, the home side had a cast of standouts. Lock Jamie Hannah and converted openside flanker Fainga’anuku were up near the best of them. Hannah, making a nicely timed run at a national callup, was superb as he got through his core work well, ran for 42 metres (on 10 carries) and made 17 tackles. Fainga’anuku, this intriguing hybrid, was into everything with a pack-best 46m in hand, 6 defenders beaten and 17 tackles.

Ethan Blackadder, with 22 tackles nailed, Christian Lio-Willie (38m, 15 tackles) and Codie Taylor also played their parts up front.

In the backs no one impressed more than McNicholl, having a late-career sweet spot as fill-in for the crocked Will Jordan. On top of three sweet finishes, he ran for a team-high 68m, beat 4 defenders and made a pair of clean breaks. Not far behind was skipper David Havili who continued his irrepressible form – an All Blacks return now a likelihood – with another hugely influential display. Chay Fihaki and Sevu Reece also enjoyed a high-octane affair, while No 10 Taha Kemara barely put a foot wrong.

Havili said it was “special” to continue the remarkable finals record for this serial title contender.

“We know how good we are in finals football and we backed our history on that,” he said.

Asked why the Crusaders were so good at this time of the year, he added: “The guys that have gone before us have passed on a lot of rich history for us, We learnt off that this week.”

Anton Segner continued his impressive form for the Blues with another high-workload display that included a try and 52m on the carry, Caleb Clarke got through plenty of work out wide with a try and game-high 86m and AJ Lam continued his standout final campaign for the franchise. Hooker Eli Oudenryn also put in another eye-catching effort off the pine.

Wrampling’s untimely exit turned this contest on its head just shy of the first-quarter mark.

At that stage things were balanced deliciously at 7-7, the Blues striking early via a slick move off lineout to put halfback Sam Nock over, and the Crusaders replying 10 minutes later when excellent buildup work from Kemara and Hannah allowed Reece, wide on the left, to jink nicely inside for the record-extending 74th try of his Super Rugby career.

Then came Wrampling’s moment of madness, his walk to the sideline, the pretty quick decision to upgrade the automatic yellow to a red, and a 26-7 burst from the ‘Saders, a man up, to turn that deadlock into a 33-14 halftime advantage.

The Blues actually hung tough initially, McNicholl’s 21st-minute try, set up by the offloads of Blackadder and Lio-Willie, answered by a power effort from Segner that left the scores level at 14-14 into the final 10 minutes of the spell.

But then the Crusaders went to work. Havili, off a buildup in which Fainga’anuku featured prominently, beat Ofa Tu’ungafasi’s tackle attempt for his team’s third try, Fihaki danced inside three would-be tacklers wide on the right for the fourth and Kemara finished the closing burst with the easiest of scores off the tap-penalty near the line.

From there it was really only a matter of what the final digits would end up as the tries came thick and fast to the end, with McNicholl completing his hat-trick and replacement hooker Manumaua Letiu getting in on the act for the home side, and Xavi Taele, Payton Spencer and Clarke adding a hint of respectability for the visitors.