Super Rugby is steaming along towards the playoffs and while the 2015 edition hasn’t been a particularly memorable one, round 15 sees a mouth-watering clash between last year’s finalists the Crusaders and eventual champions the Waratahs square off to keep their Championship aspirations alive.
The match is a compelling prospect for a couple of reasons. Last year’s final was between these two sides and Saturday’s match is, obviously, being touted as a grudge re-match. There is also the likelihood that Crusaders legends Richie McCaw and Dan Carter will be running out on to the Allianz pitch for the last time in Crusaders colours. Of course, neither of them have fond memories of their previous encounter in Sydney – during last year’s final. Carter only lasted 30 minutes before succumbing to injury, while McCaw had the dubious honour of giving away the penalty in the late stages of the match that led to them losing the final.
Indeed, there is a lot of history and emotion between the two sides. Traditionally, the Saders and Tahs have been classic foes; they battled it out for Super supremacy in 2005 and 2008, which saw the Saders win the crown on both occasions, while 2014 was the turn of the Waratahs to get over the line in a titanic final that made Bernard Foley a household name in Australian rugby circles. The intensity has always been present even during round robin matches where both teams haven’t wanted to concede an inch.
The history between the sides has not been confined to the field either. Daryl Gibson, a former Crusader, is the new head coach of the Waratahs, while two former coaches in Robbie Deans for the Saders and Ewan McKenzie for the Tahs have both been Wallabies head coach in recent years.
The brutal truth, however, is that come Saturday there won’t be a hint of sentimentality in the air because the only thing that matters is winning. Both teams must win to have a chance of making this year’s playoffs.
It all comes down to survival.
Admittedly, this year’s competition has been lacklustre and lacked a degree of excitement and this has been epitomised in the past by both the Tahs and Saders. For two teams who played out a mammoth final a mere year ago, it is perplexing that the Tahs find themselves in 6th place on the combined log and the Saders even further down in 9th. For all their talent and track record of accomplishment, neither team has looked like replicating their tournament-winning successes.
Both have had moments of brilliance and flashes of endurance which have been the hallmarks of previous campaigns, but the inconsistencies of their performances in 2015 have been reflected in them languishing in mid-table for most of the season.
All of that can change though in Sydney on Saturday night.
The next round in this celebrated rivalry doesn’t just offer the current and former champion a chance to make a strong run to the playoffs in a bid to clinch one of the six coveted spots, it also gives them the opportunity to put on a clinical performance to remind the rest of the pack that they are in fact champions and deserve to be recognised as such.
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