Latest news with #SuperRugbyPacifictrophy
Scoop
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Scoop
Super Rugby Pacific Grand Final: What We Learned And What It Means For The All Blacks
All Black squad naming Midday, Monday 23 June Coastal Rugby Club, Taranaki Live blog updates on RNZ Analysis: Turns out last year was just a blip for the Crusaders. Quite a significant blip, to be fair, one that deviated from common events but very much snapped back to normal when the side lifted the Super Rugby Pacific trophy after their tense 16-12 win over the Chiefs on Saturday night. The only difference was that it was the first Crusaders trophy lift in quite a while that didn't involve breakdancing, but it's unlikely anyone's holding that against Rob Penney. Last year he was almost out of a job, now he's one of only three current head coaches in the competition who can claim they've won it. Penney's story of the last 18 months is a fascinating one, but it's his to tell when he chooses. Right now there's plenty to digest from the final and competition as a whole: The irony and ultimate success of a test match style final No one was surprised when the first instinct of the Crusaders and Chiefs was to boot the ball high, long and often in the final. That's because as soon as the play-offs started everyone started to shut down all the expansive play that had been such a big part of the competition's regeneration at the start of the season. Obviously, the dipping temperatures played their part but it was the ultimately heightened risk that saw the offloads reduced, while real estate on the field became as valuable as it is in real life. The upshot of this is that it's been the perfect workout before the test season starts. The All Blacks will likely be reverting to a stripped down style once things get close, so the fresh experience of having everything come down to a couple of key second half moments is vitally useful. Defence wins championships The Crusaders kept both the Blues and Chiefs scoreless in the second halves of the semi and final. You'd be hard pressed to find any team that does that in any game and loses. Scrums All the attention was on Tamaiti Williams and how his knee would hold up and while the big man certainly played his part, the real Crusaders hero was on the other side of the front row. For the second weekend in a row, Fletcher Newell started and finished the game - a phenomenal effort for a tighthead prop. The entire Crusaders pack can take a bow though, as their effort in the 72nd minute to win the only points of the second half was not only crucial in the context of the game, but a culmination of a fantastic effort overall. The All Black scrum was one of the major success stories last season, so it'll be no surprise at all when Newell's name once again gets read out on Monday's squad announcement. Valiant efforts Quinn Tupaea's big comeback season included a very good performance in the final, despite having little to work with due to the committed Crusaders defence. Was it enough to get him named in the initial squad? Other honourable mentions should go to Luke Jacobson, who typically threw himself into everything, Shaun Stevenson in his last game for the Chiefs, and Tupou Vaa'i, who has been outstanding all year. McMillan's legacy While Penney can now bask from the top of the mountain after being in the darkest valley, where does this leave Clayton McMillan? The Chiefs are now in Buffalo Bills territory in terms of how fans now regard them, especially considering many were ready to engrave their names on the trophy after only a few rounds earlier this year. McMillan now leaves to coach Munster, a role and overseas experience he fully deserves after dragging the corpse of what Warren Gatland had left of the Chiefs into a side that has been able to almost win a title three years in a row. Key word being 'almost' though. Will this count against him when he presumably returns to New Zealand at some stage to try and become the next All Black coach?
Perth Now
03-06-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
Brumbies forward looking to bow out with Super bang
Tom Hooper has already been rewarded for a stand-out season but the only gong the Brumbies big man cares about is winning the Super Rugby Pacific trophy. The Wallabies forward finished third in the Super Rugby Player of the Year voting behind All Blacks superstars Ardie Savea and Damien McKenzie. He was also named blindside flanker in the honorary inaugural team of the year. Hooper has been making the most of his last season with the Brumbies after signing a two-year deal with UK club Exeter and is determined to go out with a bang by lifting the Super trophy for the first time in 21 years. "I don't really care too much about the individual accolades and even if I did, Ardie smashed me in the comp - I think he won it about five weeks ago - he's an absolute freak," Hooper said of Moana Pasifika skipper Savea. "I enjoy playing with this group of blokes and they're some of my best mates, so yeah to be able to play my role for the team is the most pleasing thing." The Brumbies host the Hurricanes in a qualifying final on Saturday night and unless Queensland upset the Crusaders in Christchurch, it's set to be their last match in Canberra for the season. Should the Reds win on Friday night, a victorious Brumbies outfit would play a semi-final at home rather than in New Zealand where they have lost in the play-offs in the past three seasons. Making his debut back in 2021 and earning 51 caps, Hooper says he's planning to "rip in", in case it is his last in Canberra. "I haven't really thought about it being my last and I'm sure after I rip in on the field, there'll be a couple of waterworks with my family and the crowd," he told AAP. "Hopefully the Reds can do us a favour and win or if not, we'll just have to win one over there so we're not too fussed. "Whether it's at home or across the ditch, it doesn't really change, we'll be rip-roaring into the finals." The Brumbies have had the wood on the Hurricanes until round 11 this season, winning five of their past six and are unbeaten at home since 2017. They were starved of possession in that 29-35 loss and missed a whopping 40 tackles, with barnstorming winger Kini Naholo steam-rolling his way to two tries. Suffering an ACL last month, he will miss the match. Hooper, who has been starting at lock recently, said they couldn't afford to let the Hurricanes win the physical battle and needed to be firing from the opening whistle. "They came roaring into that Anzac match knowing that they'd lost a few on the trot against us so we have to make sure that we kind of nullify them a bit better," the 10-Test Wallaby said. "They got the jump on us last time, and we got to make sure that our eyelids are wide open and we're not asleep at the start of this game. "We're just going to make sure that we rip into every moment we can on game day and make sure it's an 80-minute performance."
West Australian
03-06-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
Brumbies forward looking to bow out with Super bang
Tom Hooper has already been rewarded for a stand-out season but the only gong the Brumbies big man cares about is winning the Super Rugby Pacific trophy. The Wallabies forward finished third in the Super Rugby Player of the Year voting behind All Blacks superstars Ardie Savea and Damien McKenzie. He was also named blindside flanker in the honorary inaugural team of the year. Hooper has been making the most of his last season with the Brumbies after signing a two-year deal with UK club Exeter and is determined to go out with a bang by lifting the Super trophy for the first time in 21 years. "I don't really care too much about the individual accolades and even if I did, Ardie smashed me in the comp - I think he won it about five weeks ago - he's an absolute freak," Hooper said of Moana Pasifika skipper Savea. "I enjoy playing with this group of blokes and they're some of my best mates, so yeah to be able to play my role for the team is the most pleasing thing." The Brumbies host the Hurricanes in a qualifying final on Saturday night and unless Queensland upset the Crusaders in Christchurch, it's set to be their last match in Canberra for the season. Should the Reds win on Friday night, a victorious Brumbies outfit would play a semi-final at home rather than in New Zealand where they have lost in the play-offs in the past three seasons. Making his debut back in 2021 and earning 51 caps, Hooper says he's planning to "rip in", in case it is his last in Canberra. "I haven't really thought about it being my last and I'm sure after I rip in on the field, there'll be a couple of waterworks with my family and the crowd," he told AAP. "Hopefully the Reds can do us a favour and win or if not, we'll just have to win one over there so we're not too fussed. "Whether it's at home or across the ditch, it doesn't really change, we'll be rip-roaring into the finals." The Brumbies have had the wood on the Hurricanes until round 11 this season, winning five of their past six and are unbeaten at home since 2017. They were starved of possession in that 29-35 loss and missed a whopping 40 tackles, with barnstorming winger Kini Naholo steam-rolling his way to two tries. Suffering an ACL last month, he will miss the match. Hooper, who has been starting at lock recently, said they couldn't afford to let the Hurricanes win the physical battle and needed to be firing from the opening whistle. "They came roaring into that Anzac match knowing that they'd lost a few on the trot against us so we have to make sure that we kind of nullify them a bit better," the 10-Test Wallaby said. "They got the jump on us last time, and we got to make sure that our eyelids are wide open and we're not asleep at the start of this game. "We're just going to make sure that we rip into every moment we can on game day and make sure it's an 80-minute performance."
