No financial bonanza, but Crusaders determined to send out old stadium in style in Super Rugby Pacific final

Monday, 16 June 2025

The Super Rugby Pacific final won’t be a financial bonanza, but hosting it is a massive morale booster as the Crusaders get set to “protect our patch of grass” in the last big game at Christchurch’s Apollo Projects Stadium.

Crusaders chief executive Colin Mansbridge is expecting a sell-out crowd for Saturday’s clash with the Chiefs for their eighth home final - and fourth at Addington since 2018 - but he said it won’t be a turbo boost to the coffers because of crowd size constraints at the venue.

The existing 17,000-capacity will not be increased because, Mansbridge said, the cost of bringing in an additional 600 seats at the western end “outweighs the revenue you would get from the tickets”.

The Crusaders have had two sell-out crowds this year, “which has been our best for attendances for quite some time”, he said, due to performances and some afternoon kickoffs and “some exceptional weather’’ before winter set in.

But they lost money on the qualifying final against the Reds “because the attendance was so low” with a 2-degree temperature and a 20kmh south-easterly.

Mansbridge said the Crusaders would do “a little bit better than break even’’ for the semifinal and final, but would not get the same cash boost they can expect at the new One New Zealand Te Kaha Stadium ”with 10,000 more seats and more hospitality space with more premium seating“.

Playoffs match hosts have to pay an appearance fee to the visiting team and, while Mansbridge “is not at liberty to tell you what it is”, he confirmed it was “a certain amount for a quarterfinal, double that for a semifinal and double that for a final”.

That meant the yield to the Crusaders - who have had near-capacity crowds most of the year - is nowhere near as great as it would be for the Blues, who could potentially go from 15,000 in the round-robin to 45,000 at Eden Park.

Mansbridge said the new stadium would be “a game-changer for us” for any playoff matches in future years.

“The temporary stadium’s been good for us, but [from a financial point of view], I can’t wait to see the back of the bloody thing.”

Putting his accountancy hat to one side, however, Mansbridge said hosting the final was a tremendous fillip for the Crusaders organisation “and our fans’’.

“We hadn’t written it off, but [a home final] was out of our hands a few weeks ago … so it’s very special to be having it at home.”

While administrators are eagerly anticipating next year’s move to the new venue, the Crusaders players have a soft spot for the old Addington amphitheatre.

“This is home for us,’’ flanker and vice-captain Ethan Blackadder said after Friday’s 21-14 win over the Blues. “It doesn’t matter if it’s scaffolding or what, we love that patch of grass. Our fans turn up for us, we just love to go to war out there.

“Until we play on that new set of grass [at Te Kaha], we don’t actually care. We want to see this off.”

While the Crusaders have now won 31 home playoff games since 1998, two-try fullback Will Jordan indicated the desire to “protect our patch’’ at Christchurch’s “temporary’’ stadium that is now in its 14th season drove them more than the record itself.

“It’s the last year for this stadium which has given us a lot of joy. I know, personally, I’ve been coming here for 15 years. She’s not perfect, but it’s home for us. We’ve really enjoyed playing here and it’s been a bit of a fortress for us.

“We get one more week to try and protect that again, and the boys will be fizzed up for it.”

Blackadder - who had stitches to a deep cut above his eye - and fellow vice captain Jordan were the Crusaders’ onfield leaders as they repulsed 41 Blues phases as Vern Cotter’s team hammered at their line for six tense minutes after the fulltime hooter sounded.

Jordan felt the close-knit crowd at Addington - where the stands are close to the sidelines - helped inspire the rearguard action, saying the players “do feel’’ the energy, “on the line, particularly [from] that stand in behind [the posts]. Small margins, and we’ll need them again next week.”

The Crusaders have twice beaten the Chiefs in big finals in the last four years, triumphing 24-13 to win a second successive Super Rugby Aotearoa title in Christchurch in 2021 and going to Hamilton to pull off a 25-20 win in 2023 after losing twice to the Chiefs in the regular season.

They face a similar scenario this year - the Chiefs won the round two clash in Hamilton, 49-24 and beat the Crusaders 35-19 in Christchurch in round 13. Across the two encounters, the Chiefs have scored 84 points to the Crusaders’ 43, and crossed for 11 tries to six.

But Crusaders coach Rob Penney insisted none of that matters now. While acknowledging (before the Chiefs’ emphatic 37-17 semifinal win over the Brumbies) that Clayton McMillan’s men were “have led the way all year and they’re playing some great code’’, he thought the round robin record ”isn’t relevant at all”.

“The teams have moved well past where they were even a month ago. It’s a one-off cup-type situation where you get one chance. And, again, it will come down to some moments.”

Penney said that he had planned to only celebrate the semifinal win “very quietly”. .

“The job’s not done’’.

SUPER RUGBY FINALS AT APOLLO PROJECTS STADIUM

2018: Crusaders 37 Lions 18

2019: Crusaders 19 Jaguares 3

2021: Crusaders 24 Chiefs 13

2025: Crusaders v Chiefs