Watch: Crusaders clinch eighth Super Rugby home final after heart-stopping win over Blues

Friday, 13 June 2025

The Crusaders were too strong for the Blues in the Super Rugby Pacific semi in Christchurch.

At Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch: Crusaders 21 (Tom Christie 24min, Will Jordan 37min, 70min tries; Rivez Reihana 3 con) Blues 14 (Mark Tele’a 11min, Rieko Ioane 20min try; Beauden Barrett 2 con) HT: 14-14. Yellow cards: Braydon Ennor (Crusaders, 13min, head clash), Joshua Fusitu’a (Blues, 13min head clash), Hoskins Sotutu (Blues, 74min, head clash).

Two-try hero Will Jordan hailed the Crusaders’ ability to “manage our emotions’’ to claw a comeback win over the Blues in a heart-stopping 86-minute Super Rugby Pacific semifinal.

The All Black fullback dotted down once in each half as Crusaders clinched a record eighth home Super Rugby final after making the Blues pay for ill-discipline with a comeback win.

Jordan clinched the killer try in the 70th minute for a 21-14 win at Apollo Projects Stadium on Friday after the Blues had gifted a string of penalties in a row following some afters by Hoskins Sotutu at a maul.

It was the third Crusaders try following lineout mauls, but they still had to survive six minutes of relentless Blues pick-and-goes after the final hooter before producing a match-saving turnover.

“It went down to the wire, but we managed to get the one stop we needed to carry on for another week,’’ Jordan said.

Will Jordan of the Crusaders scores a try during the semifinal.

“It was test match-like, and that’s physically and mentally. They came out and punched us in the nose a wee bit down 14-0, and I think we did a great job of managing our emotions to get back into the game.

“We played well for that next 40 or 50 minutes, and the last 10 minutes we just managed to hang on. It’s all about small moments in these big games, and we managed to win enough of those.”

Rivez Reihana of the Crusaders is tackled by Finlay Christie of the Blues.

Ultimately, the Crusaders’ superior discipline proved a telling factor, with the Blues pinged for 16 penalties to the home side’s nine in a game where the passions spilled over with several skirmishes later dubbed by Crusaders coach Rob Penney as “hand bag’’ affairs.

Blues coach Vern Cotter said the defeat was “still raw’’ but he credited the Crusaders, saying ”it was a night where as soon as you gave something’’, whether turnovers or penalties, “the opposition, especially the Crusaders, will take it and make you pay for it.”

He said the Blues’ performance was disrupted by “yellow cards and HIAs around our front row’’, which resulted in them having to field hooker Ricky Riccitelli at loosehead prop in the final quarter.

“But I was proud of the boys for hanging in there and finishing with some guts and determination. We didn’t get there, but we should be proud of the effort and intent we had.”

Cotter noted the Blues had suffered a high penalty count, he wanted to review the tape before commenting on the decision-making, but

The Crusaders’ extended their home playoff winning streak to 31 games, securing albeit nail-bitingly - and the old Addington amphitheatre lives to see another grand final day against the Chiefs or the Brumbies next Saturday.

The first half stalemate - featuring two tries apiece, two yellow card each for head-on-head clashes and three Crusaders HIAs - was a helter-skelter affair at test match intensity with the field kickers putting the ball into orbit early.

Crusaders centre Braydon Ennor rocked Beauden Barrett with a thundering hit, but the All Black pivot was unfazed and soon struck a stunning kick-pass for Caleb Clarke to test the defence.

Barrett flung the final wide pass for Mark Tele’a to score the games’ first try after a Blues ruck turnover and a probing A J Lam kick forced Sevu Reece to carry the ball back and concede a 5m scrum.

Rieko Ioane dots down his record-breaking 56th try for the Blues in the semifinal.

The Crusaders lost Ennor to the sinbin for a head clash with Sotutu. By the time he returned, after passing his HIA, the Blues were 14-0 ahead.

They won a penalty near the Crusaders’ line and called a scrum to exploit their one-man advantage. Tele’a came off the right wing to make the extra man and create space for Ioane to thunder through to the line for his 56th Blues try - one more than ex-All Black Doug Howlett.

The Crusaders only began to play at 14 points down. They earned a penalty in the Blues’ 22, Antonio Shalfoon won the lineout, Codie Taylor darted from the maul and, several phases later, Tom Christie crashed over near the corner.

Rivez Reihana’s superb sideline conversion brought the crowd to life and the Blues soon lost prop Joshua Fusitu’a to a yellow card for a head-on-head with Crusaders lock Scott Barrett.

The momentum swung just before halftime when Will-of-the-wisp Jordan shimmied, stepped and powered over the line as the Crusaders spread the ball wide from another well-executed lineout penalty maul.

The teams were locked at 14-14 at halftime, but it seemed the Crusaders had more gas in the tank after making fewer first-half tackles (55 to 89).

Two acts around the 53rd minute defined the Crusaders’ win and deflated the Blues.

The home side had conceded a couple of penalties close to their line, but defended like their lives depended on it with a juddering hit on Sotutu forcing the Blues No 8 to drop the ball cold.

Then the Crusaders’ scrum monstered their opposites to win a relieving penalty to mark Taylor and Christie’s final acts before substitution.

Still, the Crusaders made hard work of it on offence, conceding a couple of turnovers through poor ball security in the tackle tumult.

But the Blues’ poor discipline gave the Crusaders a vital ascendancy and they eventually capitalised with Jordan’s go-ahead try.

The Blues lost Sotutu to a late yellow card, but they still kept striving until the fateful turnover at the end of a nerve-shredding night.