The Crusaders celebrate Ethan Blackadder's try against Moana Pasifika. Photo / Photosport
Crusaders 43
Moana Pasifika 10
The Crusaders have ended a dismal campaign with the win they required to sneak inside the playoff picture.
Now the defending champions — and their Kiwi rivals — face a nervous wait to see whether they will be squeezed out of the frame.
A resurgent set piece lifted the Crusaders to a seven-try victory over Moana Pasifika in Christchurch on Friday night, ending their opponents’ season and extending their own for 18 hours at least.
It might well have been in vain. While their fourth triumph from 14 matches lifted Rob Penney’s side into eighth spot, their stay in the final playoff place could be brief.
If the Fijian Drua beat the Melbourne Rebels in Lautoka on Saturday afternoon, the Crusaders’ title defence will officially be over.
They’re unlikely to be optimistic, given the Drua have won five of their six home games this season, beaten only by the Hurricanes. The men from the capital — and especially the Blues — will be desperate for that record to continue.
After all, a quarter-final date with the eighth-placed team won’t seem much of a prize when a healthier and sturdier Crusaders side come to town. The Blues need to cast their minds back only as far as last weekend to remember the threat posed by the perennial champs.
If the Drua do slip up against the seventh-placed Rebels — whose postseason fate is secured — there remains one final safeguard, but the Force would need to beat a Brumbies team who still have an eye on top spot.
That means all eyes will be on Churchill Park as the Hurricanes prepare to host the Highlanders before the Blues round out their regular season with a visit by the Chiefs.
A few Crusaders veterans will be particularly keen observers. Joe Moody, Owen Franks and Ryan Crotty might each have played his final game for the franchise, possibly forced to settle with the consolation of finishing on a high.
Moody almost finished with a high shot on Lotu Inisi in the 11th minute, the prop undoubtedly relieved when enough mitigation was found to prevent his yellow card being upgraded.
Franks enjoyed a 20-minute cameo off the bench while Crotty crossed for a popular try as the Crusaders took a 26-10 lead into halftime, making his first start since the 2019 semifinals after a stint in Japan.
Crotty’s sideline try was an aberration in a half first dominated by Moana Pasifika’s ill-discipline, last-ditch defence and, pivotally, the Crusaders’ suddenly unstoppable maul.
A set piece that struggled so much early in the year demolished the Blues last weekend and Codie Taylor’s early-season sabbatical might yet prove his side’s defining factor.
Taylor completed an early brace as the Crusaders crashed over for three first-half tries from their lineout drive, the hooker taking his Super Rugby tally to 44 while increasing his all-time lead among forwards.
Considering the hosts came into the match with only one maul try — the blunting of their previously potent weapon a microcosm of this campaign — Moody acknowledged its importance to their late upswing.
“We’ve worked on it the last few weeks, really drilled it into ourselves, and we’re starting to get some pay now. Whether or not it’s too little or too late, I don’t know,” Moody told Sky Sport after his 125th and potentially final appearance in red and black.
“It’s a pretty horrible feeling, thinking your fate’s in someone else’s hands. But at the same time, you can’t do too much about it so it pays not to dwell on it.
“This has pretty much been my entire adult life, here at the Crusaders. They’ve been an awesome franchise for me, I’ve loved all my time here and all the boys that I’ve played with. It’s been awesome.”
Crusaders 43 (Ethan Blackadder, Codie Taylor 2, Ryan Crotty, Noah Hotham, Dallas McLeod, Macca Springer tries; Fergus Burke 4 cons)
Moana Pasifika 10 (Fine Inisi try; William Havili pen, con)
HT: 26-10
The All Blacks star made a brief appearance at his new club.