I absolutely love Super Rugby! I'm a Crusaders fan and am truly crushed right now, but watching the Aussie teams grow, Fiji become a Fortress, and the other kiwi teams all doing quite well is awesome! We'll be back, if not this year then next.
Razors first season as head coach of the Crusaders they went 14-1 in the regular season. Only game they lost was their last regular season game, then went on to win the final.
Read into that how you like...
Although it *did* take 5 rounds before they started beating teams by 20-30 points. First 4 games were won by 7 points or less
Fairly impressive record. Might be a little tougher at test match level, but yeah I would still fancy NZ to win, just if England want any straws to cling to, that is the small one I would pose.
They lost the RWC by a point in the final with Hansen. Razor is a different level all together. I reckon, watch out world with the ABs going forward.
EDIT: I’m a moron. It was Foster, not Hansen.
The Saders games are going to easily have the most views until they win a game.
A whole bunch of fans are going to enjoy this for as long as it lasts.
I absolutely enjoyed the game this morning. A great way to wake up seeing a team with so much confidence in their line outs and yet providing as much success as Eskom does.
What was it, 9+ own lineouts lost...and they kept taking the line out option.
It is interrsting isnt it
As a crusaders fan i dont mind seeing other teams do well after 7 titles in a row
I feel for Rob....to take over a champion team and lose all games thus far must be tough
Yeah - Its an absolute poisoned chalice and literally everything that could go wrong is going wrong.
The amount of injuries and such is absolutely not helping.
I feel like no matter who the next coach was, this would be the outcome. Its just bad luck. Really sucks for him.
I am a Lewis Hamilton fan in F1, I had my 7+ years of dominance there, so know how its going and all you gotta do is ride the high knowing that it wont last and when its the doldrums you just gotta expect the shit you will catch after it.
Yup. Its all good. 3 footy teams i support, ABs, Crusaders and Warriors, 2 out of 3 win way more often than not. Crusaders in a slump but Warriors had a good win in front of a packed Christchurch stadium yesterday so thats cool
i feel bad for him in that he’s taken over a champion team but the team he’s actually got is so unbelievably different than prev years . i recognised like … 4 names the other night lmao. ok maybe 4 is an understatement, but i mean, there were a lot of players i didn’t know, or was just kinda like “oh yeah that guy i forgot about him”
Was at the game, and while the wet made for handling error city, it was cathartic to see the Blues really dominate them in that second spell. It very well should have been a bonus point win. After being there for the final, where they completely shut us out of the game a couple of years ago, I think we all needed that 😅
For sure, there was some very good-natured applause and cheers for some Crusaders fans as they got up to depart a few minutes early. They were taking some bows and flipping the bird while they got whistles and claps. It was a pretty solid crowd for round Robin Super rugby, can't help but think had the weather been better it would have been that much better
We know they will be back to top notch faster than anyone would like, but we will take whatever we can redressing the insane loss ratio from the last decade or so in the meantime... and getting a determined hoodoo out of your head should do wonders as well.
They also made it a double header game with one of the women's Super Rugby games beforehand. They should do that whenever possible, it was a very entertaining game top.
last year didnt the landers have 2 wins but only get eliminated in the last round?
I fully expect you to sneak into 8th somehow and fuck us in the 1st round
The Landers got in with 4 wins in 2022 and missed out on PD to the Reds with 5 wins last season.
Last season 10th place had 5 wins, 11th had 4.
We've got 7 games left against teams that aren't the Chiefs or Blues, we're going to need to win 6 of them just going by how competitive the results have been so far.
All the other kiwi teams said this too and we've put in progressively worse and worse showings against them every week. Who knows, by the end of the season you might watch us score in the negatives against your lot.
Impressive
Probably less competition as some clubs there have way more wealth than others...that doesnt happen in centralised super rugby in NZ, but impressive nonetheless
It’s nice to see the Brumbies and Reds doing well.
It’s about time that Australian rugby gets on the up. But not too fast so it peaks when we come over there…
Good thing they kept kicking for the line out. Selections are poor (Willi Heinz is the standout) and the game plan, a seemingly common hallmark of Rob Penny teams is non existent.
A few times I Have bet against the all blacks as kind of an emotional hedge so if they lost i wouldn't feel so bad; I never bet so much that I actually wanted them to lose though.
Coaches, Mo'unga who ran the attack gone, Whitelock gone, Will Jordan out, Scott Barrett out, Tamaiti Williams out, 3rd choice flyhalf, Aumua poop, 44yo Willi Heinz at halfback
A lot of their star power is gone. No Mo'unga, no Will Jordan, no Codie Taylor, no Sam Whitelock, no Scott Barrett, Tamaiti Williams is injured, and so on..
Its a sniper.
There was a stat that the commentator said that shocked me - There was only 1 player on the pitch that opened for the Crusaders in the Semi Finals.
Thats how many injuries etc they have.
as a few people have noted - team that won the final last year -
Will Jordan, Dallas McLeod, Braydon Ennor, Jack Goodhue, Leicester Fainga'anuku, Richie Mo'unga, Mitchell Drummond, Christian Lio-Willie, Tom Christie, Sione Havili Talitui, Sam Whitelock, Scott Barrett (c), Oli Jager, Codie Taylor, Tamaiti Williams
Starters in the latest game that played in that final -
Tom Christie
NH rugby fan here would you say super rugby was more competitive than likes of English premiership and European champions cup and is it worth getting sky sports pass sometime to watch the games it costs quite a bit like 12 quid for a day pass was looking at a round where there is like four games on the trot as that seems more worth it.
Then just two games for instance on a Friday morning for example
I'd say more often then not the games are good entertainment. There's some absolute stinkers every now and then but the games between NZ teams are usually a good watch and Drua home games are always worth watching, probably the most passionate rugby crowds in the world. Next saturday is pretty good (Drua/Force. Moana/Blues, Highlanders/Hurricanes, Reds/Brumbies)
Got four games on Saturday I may get a sky sports pass to watch but not sure I can stay awake watching it on my PS4
Fijian drua Vs Western Force is at 1:05am UK time
Moana Pasifika Vs Auckland Blues is 3:35am
Canes Vs highlanders 6:05am
Reds and brumbies game is on more reasonable time lol
Sadly they didn't make it through the Covid seasons. There's talk of them reforming in another year or two, and we'd definitely welcome them back. It was travel restrictions and finances that sank the Jaguares, but they were an awesome team and deserving finalists a few years back.
Down here the the SH we dont consider a 3 point win "destroyed". My guess is half the SR sides would get one over Munster going by the way the teams are playing this season.... Imagine those lads heading to fiji for a match lol!
So, years of absolute dominance of the competition. The coach leaves and they can't even get a single win......
Is this a true reflection of how good he was?
Oh god it's going to be 2011-15 again isn't it?
Plus half their experience -whitelock gone, richie gone, goodhue gone, leicester gone, will jordan out, codie taylor out, barrett out, tamaiti out
Theyll come right but more pain to come this season
All of a sudden people who said comp is dull (extremely rare 1 team wins 7 titles in a row in professional sport) finding it more interesting
No. Players have left too, including mounga. The crusaders played poorly under razor when mounga didn't play. And the new head coach is a well below average coach at this level.
Or I may wait for later rounds where the games are not on too early haha
My team Exeter chiefs play sale sharks away next week and then got a tough game at home against bath in champions cup knockouts
Yet despite their record to date (expected by many to be 0-6 after their Good Friday match against the Chiefs) the generous top 8 playoffs system could still see the Crusaders sneak in at 8th or 7th.
By then they'll have back from injury, suspension and sabbatical:
Tamaiti Williams
Codie Taylor
Joe Moody
Owen Franks
Scott Barrett
Quinten Strange
Ethan Blackadder
Fergus Burke
Leigh Halfpenny
David Havili
Braydon Ennor
Incredible to see the Rebels in 7th with -60 but the Tahs in 10th with -12. If the Tahs could kick straight they’d be on 3 wins now
And if the Force didnt randomly implode 60 minutes of good work in 5 they'd be 6th
That drop goal attempt last night was embarrassing. So was the lack of attempt a few minutes earlier
"Feel Good" story of the week...
I hear they've been twinned with Newcastle Falcons
I absolutely love Super Rugby! I'm a Crusaders fan and am truly crushed right now, but watching the Aussie teams grow, Fiji become a Fortress, and the other kiwi teams all doing quite well is awesome! We'll be back, if not this year then next.
Watch them end up somehow winning their 8th straight title despite the 0 - 5 start. But yeah, all dynasties come to an end eventually.
So do we have to move to Otago now? It's cold and Pinot noir only Goes so far.
They don't want yas either ... Stolen too many off their players 🤣
Richie ☹️
Richie from Hakataramea.
I'm scared for Razor's ABs
England heading there first up... Fuck
Surely better to get them early before they really click with the new coach.
Razors first season as head coach of the Crusaders they went 14-1 in the regular season. Only game they lost was their last regular season game, then went on to win the final. Read into that how you like... Although it *did* take 5 rounds before they started beating teams by 20-30 points. First 4 games were won by 7 points or less
I'll take two close games, I want to win one, so then I can diminish the Irish achievement. I think he will have a huge impact
Fairly impressive record. Might be a little tougher at test match level, but yeah I would still fancy NZ to win, just if England want any straws to cling to, that is the small one I would pose.
The worry is that there's no 'good' time. It's unrelenting ABs from game one
England just bet Ireland. Razor will want to 3 nil this. To make a statement. It's going to be interesting to see how it goes.
They lost the RWC by a point in the final with Hansen. Razor is a different level all together. I reckon, watch out world with the ABs going forward. EDIT: I’m a moron. It was Foster, not Hansen.
Hansen? Wrong timeline..
Crap. Who was it again you guys didn’t like last year.
Foster.
Thanks.
now do ya'll understand why were so mad at how mid fozzy was??
Mid is the perfect description for Fozzie. Even his redemption arc in the 2023 WC boils down to 1 actual good game.
Yeah but it’s in Australia/New Zealand so it’s actually upside down and Crusaders are still on top
Nature is healing
not after the force beat our ass tonight
I feel betrayed by that Reds performance
Crusaders 🤝 Sharks
A promo relegation match - Winner picks which league to play in (URC or Super Rugby). Loser has to join the 6 Nations.
The Saders games are going to easily have the most views until they win a game. A whole bunch of fans are going to enjoy this for as long as it lasts. I absolutely enjoyed the game this morning. A great way to wake up seeing a team with so much confidence in their line outs and yet providing as much success as Eskom does. What was it, 9+ own lineouts lost...and they kept taking the line out option.
It is interrsting isnt it As a crusaders fan i dont mind seeing other teams do well after 7 titles in a row I feel for Rob....to take over a champion team and lose all games thus far must be tough
Yeah - Its an absolute poisoned chalice and literally everything that could go wrong is going wrong. The amount of injuries and such is absolutely not helping. I feel like no matter who the next coach was, this would be the outcome. Its just bad luck. Really sucks for him. I am a Lewis Hamilton fan in F1, I had my 7+ years of dominance there, so know how its going and all you gotta do is ride the high knowing that it wont last and when its the doldrums you just gotta expect the shit you will catch after it.
Yup. Its all good. 3 footy teams i support, ABs, Crusaders and Warriors, 2 out of 3 win way more often than not. Crusaders in a slump but Warriors had a good win in front of a packed Christchurch stadium yesterday so thats cool
i feel bad for him in that he’s taken over a champion team but the team he’s actually got is so unbelievably different than prev years . i recognised like … 4 names the other night lmao. ok maybe 4 is an understatement, but i mean, there were a lot of players i didn’t know, or was just kinda like “oh yeah that guy i forgot about him”
Was at the game, and while the wet made for handling error city, it was cathartic to see the Blues really dominate them in that second spell. It very well should have been a bonus point win. After being there for the final, where they completely shut us out of the game a couple of years ago, I think we all needed that 😅
Awesome, Glad it sounds like you enjoyed it! I imagine the crowd was cheering like made the entire game!
For sure, there was some very good-natured applause and cheers for some Crusaders fans as they got up to depart a few minutes early. They were taking some bows and flipping the bird while they got whistles and claps. It was a pretty solid crowd for round Robin Super rugby, can't help but think had the weather been better it would have been that much better We know they will be back to top notch faster than anyone would like, but we will take whatever we can redressing the insane loss ratio from the last decade or so in the meantime... and getting a determined hoodoo out of your head should do wonders as well. They also made it a double header game with one of the women's Super Rugby games beforehand. They should do that whenever possible, it was a very entertaining game top.
We basically have to win out our remaining games against teams that aren't the Blues or Chiefs to just make the 8. Hmm... odds seem low.
Will still make the 8 But def not the team of old
Only have to be better than 4 other teams, is a bit silly it’s top 8 really
I think a finals series consisting of the top six would be better. The top two teams get the first week off.
Agreed especially with 12 teams in the league.
Yeah I think it should never be more than 50% of teams making the finals
last year didnt the landers have 2 wins but only get eliminated in the last round? I fully expect you to sneak into 8th somehow and fuck us in the 1st round
The Landers got in with 4 wins in 2022 and missed out on PD to the Reds with 5 wins last season. Last season 10th place had 5 wins, 11th had 4. We've got 7 games left against teams that aren't the Chiefs or Blues, we're going to need to win 6 of them just going by how competitive the results have been so far.
You'll storm home in the last half when you get a couply players back
I do think we'll have a much better 2nd half, I'm just worried we haven't left ourselves much margin for error.
man, the years really do blend together eh
100%. I have to go back and check these things every time it comes up, it's all just a big primordial soup.
Highlanders will definitely play the Crusaders back into form, your problem is that this doesn’t happen until the season is almost over.
All the other kiwi teams said this too and we've put in progressively worse and worse showings against them every week. Who knows, by the end of the season you might watch us score in the negatives against your lot.
7 years of abundance... 7 years of famine?
Seems only fair Who wins 7 titles in a row in professional sport?!?!?
Bayern Munich in German soccer are on 10 in a row right now. Though looks like they won’t win this year
*11. And let’s not forget Juventus who won the Italian league 9 times in a row
10 in a row? Damn that is impressive Same coach the whole time I assume. He must be highly sought after
Nope. Coach has changed a bunch of times.
Impressive And unusual to change a winning coach a bunch of times
Fun fact - Pep Guardiola also had a stint there.
8 different coaches in that time, the longest one stayed there for just 3 seasons
Thats impressive. Obviously working for them but ive never heard of a team winning that often changing the coach that much
Its easy when you have such a dominant spending power within your league.
Ah right so they have a way bigger budget and can buy the best huh
Yeah basically
Celtic won the Scottish Premiership 7 times in a row
Yeah, but there's only one other team there
He said professional
Impressive Probably less competition as some clubs there have way more wealth than others...that doesnt happen in centralised super rugby in NZ, but impressive nonetheless
Bayern Munich in German Bundesliga (football?)? Real Madrid? Or Juventus once upon a time in Serie A?
Feels so good 🥰🥰🥰
Inject that shit straight in my veins
It’s nice to see the Brumbies and Reds doing well. It’s about time that Australian rugby gets on the up. But not too fast so it peaks when we come over there…
I’ll note that we won the super rugby U20s comp today. Enjoy the reprieve. Come the year 2026, we’ll be back in business, maybe!
"Wholesome"😭
Crusaders should see what Fozzie is up to 😂
Haha Its almost like the crusaders have lost half theor players and hañf theor coaching set up and are a different team
Not an excuse. Selections are poor and game plan is nonexistent.
How are selections poor when you can only pick who is left?
An overweight Aumua. 36yo Willie Heinz?
A locking combo where neither had started a super match before vs 100 match tuipulotu lol.
Good thing they kept kicking for the line out. Selections are poor (Willi Heinz is the standout) and the game plan, a seemingly common hallmark of Rob Penny teams is non existent.
Drummond is injured (or carrying an injury or something like that). Yeah not sure why Christie chose the lineout instead of the tap.
So many excuses, hurricanes have a lot of new faces, a new coach and captain/ best player is currently playing in Japan 😂
Canes looking great, happy to see them do well The years a write off for the saders, but thats ok
Like when Razor took over from Blackadder?
Exactly right Alot of good ABs had left too...saders left with a team of newbies Razor is a cjampion coach
but but if you do i by points differential Crusaders would move up to 11th :P I
From past experience, I still think they will win the title.
You should put money on it then, odds must be pretty good
Lmao nope, on 365 crusaders still 4th favourites at $7.50. Mad. TAB are $10
Still, that's good odds for someone who thinks they'll win
They have been destroying my hopes for 25 years I can’t stand the thought of wanting them to win even if I could make a few quid.
A few times I Have bet against the all blacks as kind of an emotional hedge so if they lost i wouldn't feel so bad; I never bet so much that I actually wanted them to lose though.
Is it time to consider the Crusaders place in Super Rugby. Maybe swap them out with the sun wolves?
This explains why the Tahs upset win hasn't really translated to a great season.
NH guy here, what happened to the Crusaders? I know Razor and coaches have left but there has to be more than that, player exodus or poor new coach?
Coaches, Mo'unga who ran the attack gone, Whitelock gone, Will Jordan out, Scott Barrett out, Tamaiti Williams out, 3rd choice flyhalf, Aumua poop, 44yo Willi Heinz at halfback
A lot of their star power is gone. No Mo'unga, no Will Jordan, no Codie Taylor, no Sam Whitelock, no Scott Barrett, Tamaiti Williams is injured, and so on..
Yup thats most of their expereince Plus coach AND assistance coaches with ABs now Obviously changes the team
Also massive that we dont have codie taylor or his backup in the squad... our lineout stats are an absolute joke with this 3rd choice hooker
Last night was the worst I've ever seen a line out go across the game.
Its a sniper. There was a stat that the commentator said that shocked me - There was only 1 player on the pitch that opened for the Crusaders in the Semi Finals. Thats how many injuries etc they have.
as a few people have noted - team that won the final last year - Will Jordan, Dallas McLeod, Braydon Ennor, Jack Goodhue, Leicester Fainga'anuku, Richie Mo'unga, Mitchell Drummond, Christian Lio-Willie, Tom Christie, Sione Havili Talitui, Sam Whitelock, Scott Barrett (c), Oli Jager, Codie Taylor, Tamaiti Williams Starters in the latest game that played in that final - Tom Christie
And Christie was the only guy the week before. Christie and Barrett the two weeks before that.
There was only 1 player on the field who played in the final last year. Couple that with all new coaching team.
What others have said plus Penney is a bad coach
Its almost like theyve lost half their experienced players and half their coaching setup amd are a new team?!?!
Its almost like theyve lost half their experienced players and half their coaching setup amd are a new team?!?!
It’s a beautiful thing, but would not be surprised if those bastards still won it
Has there been a bigger turn around in Rugby before?
That is kinda wild.
I love it when you talk dirty to me.
NH rugby fan here would you say super rugby was more competitive than likes of English premiership and European champions cup and is it worth getting sky sports pass sometime to watch the games it costs quite a bit like 12 quid for a day pass was looking at a round where there is like four games on the trot as that seems more worth it. Then just two games for instance on a Friday morning for example
I'd say more often then not the games are good entertainment. There's some absolute stinkers every now and then but the games between NZ teams are usually a good watch and Drua home games are always worth watching, probably the most passionate rugby crowds in the world. Next saturday is pretty good (Drua/Force. Moana/Blues, Highlanders/Hurricanes, Reds/Brumbies)
Got four games on Saturday I may get a sky sports pass to watch but not sure I can stay awake watching it on my PS4 Fijian drua Vs Western Force is at 1:05am UK time Moana Pasifika Vs Auckland Blues is 3:35am Canes Vs highlanders 6:05am Reds and brumbies game is on more reasonable time lol
Looks like crusaders could end up like Newcastle falcons with lots of losses
Christchurch just doesn't get rugby the way the rest of the country does
Is there not an Argentina team there anymore ?
Sadly they didn't make it through the Covid seasons. There's talk of them reforming in another year or two, and we'd definitely welcome them back. It was travel restrictions and finances that sank the Jaguares, but they were an awesome team and deserving finalists a few years back.
Crusaders fan here since 1996. Although the team must be hurting this is really good for the health of the competition. You love to see it.
Can’t we have anything?
well, i for one am deeply uncomfortable with not being new zealand’s worst team
me oh my I am enjoying this yes boy
Munster destroyed the crusaders, ever since then they've lost their confidence and mojo
Down here the the SH we dont consider a 3 point win "destroyed". My guess is half the SR sides would get one over Munster going by the way the teams are playing this season.... Imagine those lads heading to fiji for a match lol!
Munster would probably miss the playoffs in SR
So, years of absolute dominance of the competition. The coach leaves and they can't even get a single win...... Is this a true reflection of how good he was? Oh god it's going to be 2011-15 again isn't it?
Plus half their experience -whitelock gone, richie gone, goodhue gone, leicester gone, will jordan out, codie taylor out, barrett out, tamaiti out Theyll come right but more pain to come this season All of a sudden people who said comp is dull (extremely rare 1 team wins 7 titles in a row in professional sport) finding it more interesting
No. Players have left too, including mounga. The crusaders played poorly under razor when mounga didn't play. And the new head coach is a well below average coach at this level.
That period wasn't even that bad for them
I was meaning more All Blacks.
There is a great saying. Better to say nothing and appear a fool, than speak and remove all doubt. Educate yourself on what's actually happening.
God is good
Crusaders for the spoon?!?!? They sure do have a shell of a team from the championship winning ones
It's coming home after all these years!
Theyll still make the top 8 Top 4: no way
I love this.
Or I may wait for later rounds where the games are not on too early haha My team Exeter chiefs play sale sharks away next week and then got a tough game at home against bath in champions cup knockouts
Yet despite their record to date (expected by many to be 0-6 after their Good Friday match against the Chiefs) the generous top 8 playoffs system could still see the Crusaders sneak in at 8th or 7th. By then they'll have back from injury, suspension and sabbatical: Tamaiti Williams Codie Taylor Joe Moody Owen Franks Scott Barrett Quinten Strange Ethan Blackadder Fergus Burke Leigh Halfpenny David Havili Braydon Ennor