Lucky 13: The Crusaders beat the Chiefs 16-12 to win the Super Rugby title for the 13th time
The Hamilton-based Chiefs lost in the final for the third straight year and for the second time to the Crusaders by a margin of five points or less.
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The Crusaders clung to a one-point lead for 33 minutes, from just before halftime until the 71st minute when flyhalf Rivez Reihana kicked a penalty for the only points of the second half. They then held on under immense pressure to clinch their victory.
The win was especially poignant for the Crusaders, who won only four matches last year in one of their worst-ever seasons, ending their run of seven-straight titles. They were also playing for the last time in the 'temporary' stadium that has been their home ground since their former headquarters was destroyed in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
The Crusaders' kicking game was superb and they dominated the contest in the air, particularly through fullback Will Jordan. They kept Chiefs' flyhalf Damian McKenzie under wraps and their defense was superb, though the Chiefs scored first-half tries through prop George Dyer and fullback Shaun Stevenson.
The Crusaders scored a try through veteran hooker Codie Taylor and led 13-12 at halftime with a conversion and two penalties to Reihana.
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'Where we were at the end of last year, the start of this year we had a mountain to climb,' said Jordan, who won his seventh Super Rugby title. "Everyone had to dig deep and it hasn't been easy.
'It's taken some long hours, some hard conversations but we just ground it out tonight in front of our fans.'
The Chiefs were stifled for long periods by the Crusaders' smothering defense. While they disrupted the Crusaders' lineout, they were under pressure at scrums and they weren't able to create the space their backs needed in the second half.
'It was a classic final, two great teams going at it and a small margin,' Chiefs captain Luke Jacobson said. "The Crusaders did really well to win the halfway and play at the right end of the field.
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'I felt we had some good attack when we got into their half, we put some good pressure on them but we just didn't play enough footy down there.'
The Crusaders started the match applying pressure on the Chiefs inside their 22. When the Chiefs finally got possession, they had 24 phases inside the Crusaders' 22 before McKenzie knocked on.
The Crusaders conceded two early scrum penalties, then the Chiefs conceded two as the set piece began untidily.
Crusaders captain David Havili was shown a yellow card in the 12th minute after a head clash with Chiefs winger Emoni Narawa. From the resulting penalty, the Chiefs kicked into the corner, won the lineout and midfielder Quinn Tupaea had two strong carries before Dyer scored under the posts.
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Taylor broke away from a disintegrating maul in the 26th minute and dashed more than 20 meters down the narrow left flank to score. Reihana's conversion leveled the score at 7-7 and the Crusaders led for the first time in the 28th minute when a Reihana penalty. Another penalty made the score 13-7.
The Chiefs hit back just before halftime with a try to Stevenson who scored in the right corner after 16 phases.
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