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The outcome of Saturday’s Super Rugby final will influence the dynamics going into the Rugby Championship later this month, which may, in turn, affect the teams participating in the World Cup later this year.
History will be made this weekend regardless of which side wins. Undoubtedly, the Crusaders have the advantage when it comes to Saturday’s final as they are playing in their own backyard in Christchurch, New Zealand, and are favourites to win the Super Rugby title for the third time in a row, which would bring their tally to 10 Super Rugby titles overall, further cementing their name in the history books.
The two teams will meet for the third time in Christchurch on Sunday. Their previous two meetings saw the Crusaders walking away with a bonus point win in Buenos Aires, Argentina (14-40) and Christchurch (32-15).
The Crusaders stand a chance of making it three in a row while the Jaguares can end the Crusaders’ dominance of 30 unbeaten games at AMI Stadium.
Swys de Bruin, the man who was part of the management core when the Lions reached three consecutive Super Rugby finals, mentions that making it to the final takes a lot of hard work and that this year the Jaguares are “performing the way they should be performing”.
With 148 tries scored between them – 81for the Crusaders and 67 for the Jaguares – both teams seemed to have their GPS locked on to the try line.
The Jaguares have had a sterling run and exceeded all expectations by reaching the final. Keeping in mind that the team was only established in 2015, they have really stepped up to the plate this season, winning 11 of their 16 games.
It’s no secret that Super Rugby is dominated by the Crusaders and the Lions, however this year all the South African teams failed to make the grade, leaving the conference relatively wide open.
As a result, the Jaguares have been adopted by many South African rugby fans as a secondary team and will have a lot of support on Saturday’s match.
Having played against both teams, De Bruin highlighted that the two teams had different playing styles, ranging from a kicking game all the way to gaining advantage at the breakdown and during set plays.
On paper, and judging by past meetings, the Crusaders seem to have the advantage. However, this final has the potential to cause an upset that could likely affect the Rugby Championship and the World Cup because, if the Jaguares – a team boasting mostly Argentina players - manage to beat the Crusaders - which has a number of All Blacks – the pendulum might sway away from the New Zealand team and take their confidence down a notch. New Zealand has been dominating international rugby for a while now, so a loss to the Jaguares may well change the face of Super Rugby and world rugby as a whole.
One thing Saturday’s match won’t lack is entertainment for the fans, but for coaches it’s more about seeing how international players play under pressure.
As de Bruin says: “I will be definitely be watching that game with key interest, because we will be playing those players in the upcoming weeks.”
Kick-off is at 9.35am (CAT)
Referee: Jaco Peyper (RSA)
Venue: Orangetheory Stadium, Christchurch
