Super Rugby Pacific final preview: ‘Lucky losers’ to fall victim of ‘different beast’ Crusaders who complete Chiefs’ hat-trick

After four months of thrilling action, Super Rugby Pacific will reach its climax when the Crusaders host the Chiefs in this year’s final in Christchurch on Saturday.

As expected, this encounter will be played in front of a capacity crowd of about 17,000 spectators at the Apollo Projects Stadium after tournament organisers made an additional 1300 tickets available to the public.

Just like the 2022 and 2023 seasons, this year’s final sees the two teams who finished in first and second positions in the standings – after the league phase of the competition – going head-to-head in the final.

While that scenario would usually mean that the final would rightfully be contested between the tournament’s best sides, this year’s Super Rugby Pacific play-off format had a blemish on it as six teams advanced to the play-offs.

The Chiefs were the side who occupied top spot on the table but suffered a 20-19 shock defeat to the Blues in their Qualifying Final in Hamilton.

That meant Clayton McMillan’s troops lost their top seeding to the Crusaders, but they were still ranked higher than the Brumbies and controversially hosted their semi-final, through the lucky losers system, against the men from Canberra and emerged victorious from that encounter.

That means the Chiefs are in the final and with it being McMillan’s last match in charge of the side – before he takes over the coaching reins at Irish province Munster – his players will be highly motivated give their coach the perfect send off by lifting the Super Rugby Pacific title as victors.

Meanwhile, the Crusaders players will not be lacking in motivation either as they aim to extend their superb winning play-off streak in Christchurch to 32 consecutive matches.

If they are victorious, it will secure them their 15th Super Rugby title – including two Aotearoa successes – and seal a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for head coach Rob Penney and his charges after they failed to reach the play-offs in last year’s tournament.

Where the game will be won

The forward battle will be huge and while we expect the Crusaders to hold a slight edge in the scrums and lineouts, the duel amongst the forwards could be decisive in the bigger scheme of things. The breakdown battle proved decisive when these teams faced off during their league matches earlier in the season and that’s where the Chiefs’ captain Luke Jacobson’s brilliant groundwork paved the way to victory on each occasion.

In fellow All Blacks Wallace Sititi and Samipeni Finau, Jacobson will have good support in that department but they will have to be at their best as the Crusaders’ loose trio of Christian Lio-Willie, Tom Christie and Ethan Blackadder have worked brilliantly in tandem in that department in recent weeks with the latter particularly influential.

Last time they met

What they said

‘It was quite embarrassing to be honest’ – Codie Taylor opens up ahead of Super Rugby Pacific final

Despite his side’s outstanding play-off record in Christchurch, Crusaders boss Penney does not believe his side will be under extra pressure ahead of the final.

“We’re just focused on what’s next. History is history,” he said.

“It is what it is. We’re not even thinking about anything like that. We’re just thinking about the contest ahead of us, which is really exciting.”

Meanwhile, Chiefs fly-half Damian McKenzie is in a confident mood after their victory over the Crusaders in Christchurch a month ago.

“It’s a great challenge for us and we’re going to step towards it,” he said.

McKenzie said the men from Hamilton’s preparations would not be much different to any other game.

“It’s not going to be anything special that’s going to happen,” he added. “It’s about the team now having the basic stuff and ensuring we nail that.

“In finals, the margins are smaller and opportunities are less. It’s about being accurate in our game plan and going down there and ensuring we do that.”

Players to watch

The Crusaders have plenty of attacking threats across the park and none more so than All Blacks star Will Jordan, who played a leading role in the home side’s run to the final, especially in recent weeks when he returned to action after recovering from a knee injury sustained in last month’s clash with the Chiefs in Christchurch. Since returning to action, Jordan has shown his class with fine attacking performances in play-off wins over the Reds and Blues. He led the way with a brace of tries in the latter encounter and will be keen to continue in that vein this weekend.

Another one of the hosts’ players to keep an eye on is All Blacks back-row Blackadder, who has once again had several injury setbacks this year but when he has been fully fit, he has been one of the Crusaders’ shining lights in this tournament. In last weekend’s semi-final against the Blues, Blackadder delivered a phenomenal defensive display when he made 31 tackles, but he is equally brilliant as a ball carrier and at the breakdowns, where he usually wins his fair share of turnovers.

Meanwhile, after receiving plenty of criticism earlier in the season for not delivering his usual exemplary standard of play, All Blacks skipper Scott Barrett is back to his best and a vital cog in the Crusaders’ machine. The 31-year-old has been superb in the execution of his core duties in recent weeks as he came to the fore with a high defensive work-rate, did what was expected of him in the lineouts and gave his side good momentum on attack.

In the Chiefs camp, Barrett’s All Blacks second-row partner Tupou Vaa’i has been one of the most improved players in this year’s tournament as he has been at the forefront of the Hamilton-based outfit’s forward effort throughout this season. Vaa’i has impressed with several outstanding all-round efforts with his lineout work, ball carrying and defensive attributes of a high standard throughout, and he will be keen to replicate that this weekend.

Meanwhile, Quinn Tupaea is a player who has been in superb form throughout the season and will be a key player for the visitors this weekend. After missing the entire 2023 season while recovering from a nasty knee injury, he was not at his best in 2024 but it’s been a different story in 2025 as Tupaea has been outstanding in most of his matches and it’s not surprising that he has made the fifth most carries (176) in the competition and is 10th highest for clean breaks (13).

Another player who has been brilliant with ball in hand for the Chiefs is rookie wing Leroy Carter, who has delivered numerous outstanding attacking performances this year. Carter’s brilliance with ball in hand has resulted in him occupying joint third position for tries scored (9) in the tournament, while he is sixth for defenders beaten (43) and is in a similar position for metres gained (733).

Main head-to-head

Clayton McMillan blunt response to Crusaders’ ‘formidable record’ in Christchurch

Although there are several enticing individual battles across the park, the duel between the two fly-halves should have a huge bearing on the outcome of this fixture. In Damian McKenzie, the Chiefs have one of the genuine superstars of the competition who has proven himself several times as a match winner throughout the season and that is exactly what his team’s fans would expect from him if they want to finally end their title drought.

McKenzie comes into this match in a rich vein of form and for the third successive Super Rugby Pacific campaign, he finishes as the leading points-scorer. He will be up against a much less experienced opponent in Rivez Reihana, who has only cemented himself as the Crusaders’ first-choice number 10 in recent weeks after sharing the fly-half duties for most of the season with Taha Kemara, and veteran James O’Connor. However, Reihana, who is a former Chiefs player, has caught the eye with several outstanding displays with his game management and playmaking skills, particularly impressive.

Prediction

With little to separating these sides, don’t be surprised if this game goes down to the wire. Although the Chiefs put up a brave fight, it will not be enough against the Crusaders, who are a different beast in Christchurch. Crusaders to win by three points as the Chiefs lose a third straight final.

Previous results

2025: Chiefs won 35-19 in Christchurch
2025: Chiefs won 49-24 in Hamilton
2024: Crusaders won 37-26 in Christchurch
2024: Chiefs won 33-29 in Hamilton
2023: Crusaders won 25-20 in Christchurch (final)
2023: Chiefs won 34-24 in Hamilton
2023: Chiefs won 31-10 in Christchurch
2022: Crusaders won 20-7 in Christchurch (semi-final)

The teams

Crusaders: 15 Will Jordan, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Braydon Ennor, 12 David Havili (c), 11 Macca Springer, 10 Rivez Reihana, 9 Noah Hotham, 8 Christian Lio-Willie, 7 Tom Christie, 6 Ethan Blackadder, 5 Antonio Shalfoon, 4 Scott Barrett, 3 Fletcher Newell, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Tamaiti Williams
Replacements: 16 George Bell, 17 George Bower, 18 Seb Calder, 19 Jamie Hannah, 20 Cullen Grace, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 James O’Connor, 23 Dallas McLeod

Chiefs: 15 Shaun Stevenson, 14 Emoni Narawa, 13 Daniel Rona, 12 Quinn Tupaea, 11 Leroy Carter, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Cortez Ratima, 8 Wallace Sititi, 7 Luke Jacobson (c), 6 Samipeni Finau, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 3 George Dyer, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 1 Ollie Norris
Replacements: 16 Brodie McAlister, 17 Aidan Ross, 18 Reuben O’Neill, 19 Jimmy Tupou, 20 Kaylum Boshier, 21 Xavier Roe, 22 Josh Jacomb, 23 Etene Nanai-Seturo

Date: Saturday, June 21
Venue: Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch
Kick-off: 19:05 local (08:05 BST, 07:05 GMT)
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Damon Murphy (Australia), Matt Kellahan (Australia)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)

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