Lions a real chance with a disrupted starting lineup and a debutante at backup hooker. Crusaders without experienced All Blacks Wyatt Crockett and Israel Dagg.
Super Rugby Final 2018
Match thread
Lions chances given a further boost with the Crusaders being far too emotional this close. Should be more business as usual like.
@act-crusader We should take heed at Shag's warning.
No-one thought the ABs would lose in 1999, 2003 or 2007 until they did.
@taniwharugby said in Super Rugby Final 2018:
@mariner4life yep, only 12 capped players in the starting lineup, they should default now, save everyone the embarrassment.
And some Ferners firmly believe that number is too low.
@cgrant It is a bit sad for Wyatt, but on the other hand - if Razor believes that Perry is better and given that Perry will be with the Crusaders next year - I'm going to applaud his ruthlessness.
I have a recollection of Toddy, early in his tenure, giving Ben Franks a start in a play-off game when he wasn't the No.1 option, on the grounds that he "deserved it". Pretty sure we lost.
@chris-b said in Super Rugby Final 2018:
@act-crusader We should take heed at Shag's warning.
No-one thought the ABs would lose in 1999, 2003 or 2007 until they did.
Eh? 2003? The holes in that team were well known.
The way we lost was gut-wrenching. But we'd been flakey all season.
@chester-draws We'd beaten the Wallabies twice that year, though. Once was a thumping.
@chris-b and if we hadn't given an intercept we might have won again.
I didn't say we were bad. We were flakey.
@chester-draws Though the Aussies were even more-so. 
@chris-b said in Super Rugby Final 2018:
@chester-draws We'd beaten the Wallabies twice that year, though. Once was a thumping.
And it was perfectly obvious after the reverse fixture in Sydney that Eddie had worked out the gameplan - stop kicking it to the All Black's back three, boot it out into row Z.
@antipodean said in Super Rugby Final 2018:
@chris-b said in Super Rugby Final 2018:
@chester-draws We'd beaten the Wallabies twice that year, though. Once was a thumping.
And it was perfectly obvious after the reverse fixture in Sydney that Eddie had worked out the gameplan - stop kicking it to the All Black's back three, boot it out into row Z.
Yeah that second match was pretty close too.
I just checked back in time and the calendar has a 10 day jump in it. I can find no evidence of the game you allude to. The ABs won every game in that year comfortably from what I can see.
@chris-b said in Super Rugby Final 2018:
@crucial 1582 all over again.
But which year are you referring to?
I think there were some Groundhog Days!
2003 was mentioned, but I think that similar calendar anomalies occur in 1999 and 2007. Must be something to do with black holes or something as there is a pattern there.
If Stephen Hawking was still wheeling around we could ask him. In lieu of scientific explanation I will put it down to 'unexplained mystery'
@chester-draws said in Super Rugby Final 2018:
@chris-b and if we hadn't given an intercept we might have won again.
I didn't say we were bad. We were flakey.
No we weren’t. Our games against Oz and the Boks saw us turn a corner.
What happened is that our best centre got injured and our second best centre was played at fullback
@act-crusader said in Super Rugby Final 2018:
@chester-draws said in Super Rugby Final 2018:
@chris-b and if we hadn't given an intercept we might have won again.
I didn't say we were bad. We were flakey.
No we weren’t. Our games against Oz and the Boks saw us turn a corner.
What happened is that our best centre got injured and our second best centre was played at fullback
And our second best fullback played at centre ...
@billy-tell said in Super Rugby Final 2018:
Do we really think Perry is that much better than Crockett??
Not convinced myself.
IMO it's a close call. I thought Razor was giving Perry the semifinal so that Wyatt would get the final.
But, since sentiment says you'd give the game to Wyatt if it's even, you'd have to think Razor thinks Perry is better - and he's the man on the spot.
@mariner4life Carlos Spencer, Luke MacAlister.
@mariner4life said in Super Rugby Final 2018:
Leon MacDonald cost us two world cups
Yet he will be the saviour of the Blues 
@act-crusader said in Super Rugby Final 2018:
@chester-draws said in Super Rugby Final 2018:
@chris-b and if we hadn't given an intercept we might have won again.
I didn't say we were bad. We were flakey.
No we weren’t. Our games against Oz and the Boks saw us turn a corner.
What happened is that our best centre got injured and our second best centre was played at fullback
I've seen an awful lot of "corners turned" that were merely wishful thinking. England thought they'd turned one under Eddie Jones just recently, for example.
I'm not a big believer in teams being able to make sharp turns (especially when coach and players and game plan haven't changed much).
We didn't lose the game in 2003 at centre or fullback.
@chester-draws said in Super Rugby Final 2018:
@act-crusader said in Super Rugby Final 2018:
@chester-draws said in Super Rugby Final 2018:
@chris-b and if we hadn't given an intercept we might have won again.
I didn't say we were bad. We were flakey.
No we weren’t. Our games against Oz and the Boks saw us turn a corner.
What happened is that our best centre got injured and our second best centre was played at fullback
I've seen an awful lot of "corners turned" that were merely wishful thinking. England thought they'd turned one under Eddie Jones just recently, for example.
I'm not a big believer in teams being able to make sharp turns (especially when coach and players and game plan haven't changed much).
We didn't lose the game in 2003 at centre or fullback.
It certainly didn’t help.
But 2003 we won the Bledisloe back and I’ll take that any day.
@chester-draws said in Super Rugby Final 2018:
We didn't lose the game in 2003 at centre or fullback.
We can't have, as we didn't lose a game in 2003 at all (according to my recollection).
If we did it would have been because of an evil wizard, Deans or the TMO. Probably all three.
@mariner4life said in Super Rugby Final 2018:
Leon MacDonald cost us two world cups
I have him down for one, but the 2002 Bledisloe and 2000 3N as well.
@chris-b fuck, yeah, imagine how good the ABs would be if Auckland and the Blues were good!
When Auckland rugby is strong....
@taniwharugby 1999 Tana was flailing around in the backfield, dropping the ball; 2003 the clumsy bastard fell over Carlos (another Blue) and couldn't play; 2007 he refused to play!
1991 that was JK vs Campo.
1995 Pat Lam dropped off some burgers for the boys.
Mysteries solved!
Crusaders chief executive Hamish Riach said he expected this final to be a sell-out, with, as of last night, only a few hundred seats left.@kiwimurph That's good news. I'd say Riach's pretty much got his pricing spot on.
The epic 25-17 victory over the Lions in the final in Johannesburg last year earned the Crusaders a A$125,000 appearance fee and the club announced a $328,000 surplus, their biggest in over a decade. In 2016 they posted a profit of just $2000. In 2015 it was $3700.