The 2018 Super Rugby Final was played between the Crusaders of New Zealand and the Lions of South Africa. The match, held at Rugby League Park in Christchurch, was the 23rd final in the Super Rugby competition's history.
| Event | 2018 Super Rugby season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Date | 4 August 2018 | ||||||
| Venue | Rugby League Park, Christchurch | ||||||
| Referee | Angus Gardner (Australia) | ||||||
| Attendance | c. 20,000 [1] | ||||||
Both finalists won their respective conferences during the regular season and both had hosted quarterfinal and semifinal matches in the playoff series. The final was hosted by the Crusaders as the higher placed team from the regular season standings.
The Crusaders won the match by a margin of 19 points. The Lions started the final well, however the combination of travel, jet-lag and the sheer dominance of the Crusaders was instrumental in securing the result.[2] The Crusaders extended their record number of Super Rugby title wins to nine and became the first team to win back-to-back titles since the Chiefs in 2013.
Road to the final
edit| Conference leaders | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | W | D | L | PD | BP | Pts |
| 1 |  Crusaders
|
14 | 0 | 2 | +247 | 7 | 63 |
| 2 |  Lions
|
9 | 0 | 7 | +84 | 10 | 46 |
| 3 |  Waratahs
|
9 | 1 | 6 | +112 | 6 | 44 |
| Wildcard teams | |||||||
| 4 | Hurricanes
|
11 | 0 | 5 | +131 | 7 | 51 |
| 5 | Chiefs
|
11 | 0 | 5 | +95 | 5 | 49 |
| 6 | Highlanders
|
10 | 0 | 6 | −8 | 4 | 44 |
| 7 |  Jaguares
|
9 | 0 | 7 | −9 | 2 | 38 |
| 8 | Sharks
|
7 | 1 | 8 | −5 | 6 | 36 |
| Source: SANZAAR | |||||||
After two seasons in which 18 teams participated, the 2018 season reverted to a 15-team competition, consisting of three geographical conferences.
Each conference leader at the end of the regular season, the Crusaders from New Zealand, Lions from South Africa and Waratahs from Australia gained home berths in the quarterfinals, as did the top-ranked wildcard team, the Hurricanes from New Zealand's conference. Their four wildcard opponents in the quarterfinals were the next best teams as ranked at the end of the regular season.
All four home teams won their quarterfinal matches to set up an all-New Zealand clash between the Crusaders and Hurricanes for the first semifinal in Christchurch, while the Lions hosted the Waratahs for the second semifinal in Johannesburg.
Both home teams won their semifinal matches with comfortable margins. The Lions then travelled away to Christchurch to play the Crusaders in the 2018 Super Rugby final.
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | |||||||||
| 21 July – Christchurch | ||||||||||
| Crusaders | 40 | |||||||||
| 28 July – Christchurch | ||||||||||
| Sharks | 10 | |||||||||
| Crusaders | 30 | |||||||||
| Hurricanes | 12 | |||||||||
| 28 July – Johannesburg | ||||||||||
| Lions | 44 | |||||||||
| 21 July – Johannesburg | ||||||||||
| Waratahs | 26 | |||||||||
| Lions | 40 | |||||||||
| Jaguares | 23 | |||||||||
Match
editDetails
edit| 4 August 2018 19:35 |
| Crusaders | 37–18 | Lions |
| Try: Tamanivalu 19' Havili 34' Drummond 62' S. Barrett 70' Con: Mo'unga (4) 20', 36', 63', 71' Pen: Mo'unga (3) 16', 33', 43' | Report[3] Scoreboard[4] | Try: Brink 53' Marx 68' Con: Jantjies 54' Pen: Jantjies (2) 13', 39' |
| Rugby League Park, Christchurch Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia) |
       Crusaders
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     Lions
|
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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References
edit- ^ "Parade to celebrate Crusaders latest Super Rugby title". Radio New Zealand. 6 August 2018.
- ^ Geekie, Kaylan (4 August 2018). "Super Rugby Final: Crusaders crowned kings again". Super Rugby | Super 15 Rugby and Rugby Championship News,Results and Fixtures from Super XV Rugby. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- ^ "Outstanding Crusaders claim ninth Super Rugby title". SANZAAR. 4 August 2018. Archived from the original on 4 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- ^ "Crusaders 37-18 Lions". SANZAAR. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- ^ "Crusaders win title number nine after proving too strong for Lions in Super Rugby final". The Telegraph. London. 4 August 2018.