The 2022 Super Rugby Pacific Final was played between the Blues and the Crusaders, both of New Zealand. It was the 25th final in the Super Rugby competition's history, and the first since 2019 after the 2020 Super Rugby season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and regional tournaments were played in the 2021 Super Rugby season. The Blues had qualified in first place on the regular season standings, while the Crusaders had qualified in second place. Both teams hosted quarter-final and semi-final matches.
| Event | 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Date | 18 June 2022 | ||||||
| Venue | Eden Park, Auckland | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Sam Whitelock (Crusaders) | ||||||
| Referee | Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand) | ||||||
| Attendance | 45,000 [1] | ||||||
The final was won by the Crusaders who beat the Blues by fourteen points. The Crusaders stretched their record number of Super Rugby wins to eleven, while also stretching their number of titles won to thirteen, having won both the 2020 Super Rugby Aotearoa season and 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa season.[1]
Road to the final
edit| Top 8 finishers | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | W | D | L | PD | BP | Pts | |||
| 1 |  Blues
|
13 | 0 | 1 | 188 | 6 | 58 | |||
| 2 | Crusaders
|
11 | 0 | 3 | 202 | 8 | 52 | |||
| 3 | Chiefs
|
10 | 0 | 4 | 105 | 5 | 45 | |||
| 4 |  Brumbies
|
10 | 0 | 4 | 98 | 4 | 44 | |||
| 5 | Hurricanes
|
8 | 0 | 6 | 111 | 7 | 39 | |||
| 6 | Waratahs
|
8 | 0 | 6 | 48 | 6 | 38 | |||
| 7 | Reds
|
8 | 0 | 6 | 15 | 3 | 35 | |||
| 8 | Highlanders
|
4 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 23 | |||
| Source: [2] | ||||||||||
The 2022 season was a 12-team competition. The conference system from previous years was removed, with a single table introduced instead. Two new teams debuted in the 2022 season, with the Drua, representing Fiji, and Moana Pasifika, representing Pacific Islands heritage players, joining the five New Zealand sides and five Australian sides, following the full-time return of the Force to the competition. The top 4 sides in the competition earned home quarter finals, with the following four sides in the table playing against them.
The Blues had finished top of the overall table, having won thirteen of their fourteen fixtures round robin fixtures, and had won fifteen fixtures in a row heading into the final. The Crusaders had finished second overall having won eleven of their round robin fixtures. Heading into the fixture, Stephen Perofeta of the Blues was the competition's top points scorer, with 127 points, while Leicester Fainga'anuku and Will Jordan, both of the Crusaders, were the competition's top try scorers, both with ten tries.
In the quarter-finals the Blues beat fellow New Zealand team the Highlanders while the Crusaders beat the Reds. For the semi-finals, it was the Blues defeating the Brumbies in Auckland and the Crusaders defeating the Chiefs in Christchurch. Because of being the higher-placed team in the regular season log standings, the final was held in Auckland.
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
| 4 June – Auckland | ||||||||||
| Blues | 35 | |||||||||
| 11 June — Auckland | ||||||||||
| Highlanders | 6 | |||||||||
| Blues | 20 | |||||||||
| 4 June – Canberra | ||||||||||
| Brumbies | 19 | |||||||||
| Brumbies | 35 | |||||||||
| 18 June — Auckland | ||||||||||
| Hurricanes | 25 | |||||||||
| Blues | 7 | |||||||||
| 3 June – Christchurch | ||||||||||
| Crusaders | 21 | |||||||||
| Crusaders | 37 | |||||||||
| 10 June – Christchurch | ||||||||||
| Reds | 15 | |||||||||
| Crusaders | 20 | |||||||||
| 4 June – Hamilton | ||||||||||
| Chiefs | 7 | |||||||||
| Chiefs | 39 | |||||||||
| Waratahs | 15 | |||||||||
Quarterfinals
edit| 3 June 2022 | Crusaders | 37–15 | Reds | Orangetheory Stadium, Christchurch | ||
| 19:05 (GMT +12) | Try: Jordan 15' Mo'unga 57' Reece 65' Williams 74' Con: Mo'unga (4/4) 16', 58', 66', 76' Pen: Mo'unga (3/3) 10', 32', 39' |
Report | Try: Vunivalu 25' Daugunu 43' Con: Creighton (1/2) 44' Pen: Creighton (1/1) 6' |
Referee: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
|
| 4 June 2022 | Chiefs | 39–15 | Waratahs | FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton | ||
| 16:35 (GMT +12) | Try: Weber (2) 6', 64' L. Jacobson 22' Nankivell 34' Sowakula 71' Con: Gatland (4/5) 7', 23', 36', 72' Pen: Gatland (2/2) 3', 40+1' |
Report | Try: Pietsch 8' Harris 46' Con: Edmed (1/2) 10' Pen: Edmed (1/1) 19' |
Attendance: 10,121[3] Referee: Nic Berry (Australia) |
| 4 June 2022 | Blues | 35–6 | Highlanders | Eden Park, Auckland | ||
| 19:05 (GMT +12) | Try: A. Ioane 31' Barrett (2) 35', 48' Lam 59' Tuivasa-Sheck 69' Con: Perofeta (5/5) 33', 37', 49', 60', 70' |
Report | Pen: Banks (2/2) 5', 30' Cards: Makalio  22'
|
Attendance: 23,500[4] Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia) |
| 4 June 2022 | Brumbies | 35–25 | Hurricanes | GIO Stadium, Canberra | ||
| 19:45 (GMT +10) | Try: Fainga'a 25' Simone 31' Banks 64' Wright 74' Con: White (1/1) 33' Lolesio (2/3) 66', 76' Pen: Lolesio (3/3) 8', 48', 61' Cards: Ikitau 23'
|
Report | Try: Moorby (2) 17', 39' Pen: Barrett (5/5) 4', 11', 23', 35', 42' Cards: Franks  25'Rayasi 73'
|
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand) |
Semifinals
edit| 10 June 2022 | Crusaders | 20–7 | Chiefs | Orangetheory Stadium, Christchurch | ||
| 19:05 (GMT +12) | Try: Grace (2) 23', 35' Con: Mo'unga (2/2) 25', 37' Pen: Mo'unga (2/3) 6', 9' Cards: Matera 20'Matera 32'
|
Report | Try: Ta'avao 27' Con: Gatland (1/1) 28' Cards: Tupaea 8'
|
Attendance: 15,000[5] Referee: Nic Berry (Australia) |
| 11 June 2022 | Blues | 20–19 | Brumbies | Eden Park, Auckland | ||
| 19:05 (GMT +12) | Try: Sotutu 23' Tele'a 34' Con: Perofeta (2/2) 24', 36' Pen: Perofeta (2/2) 10', 21' Cards: Eklund 52'Choat 75'
|
Report | Try: Simone 3' L. Lonergan (2) 59', 76' Con: Lolesio (2/3) 4', 78' |
Attendance: 26,900[6] Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand) |
Match
editThe final was held at Eden Park in Auckland. Weather conditions were wet with persistent drizzle.[7] It is thought to be the first major rugby union final where both sides have been captained by brothers, with Beauden Barrett captaining the Blues and Scott Barrett captaining the Crusaders. Two other sets of brothers also played in the fixture, with the Goodhue brothers (Jack for the Crusaders and Josh for the Blues) and the Ioane brothers (Akira and Rieko both for the Blues) joining the Barrett brothers in the fixture.
Details
edit| 18 June 2022 19:05 |
| Blues | 7–21 | Crusaders |
| Try: Christie 59' Con: Perofeta (1/1) 60' | Report Match Summary | Try: Hall 39' Reece 76' Con: Mo'unga (1/2) 40+1' Pen: Mo'unga (2/3) 30', 46' Drop: Mo'unga 13' |
| Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 45,000[1] Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand) |
          Blues
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     Crusaders
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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References
edit- ^ a b c "Clinical Crusaders boss Blues 21-7 to secure Super Rugby Pacific championship". Stuff.co.nz. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
- ^ "2022 Super Rugby - Sanzar". super.rugby. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
- ^ "Chiefs take down Waratahs 39–15 in Super Rugby Pacific quarterfinal in Hamilton". Stuff.co.nz. 4 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
- ^ "Blues bash Highlanders 35–6 to cruise into Super Rugby Pacific semifinals". Stuff.co.nz. 4 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
- ^ "Crusaders beat Chiefs 20–7 in semifinal despite red card to Pablo Matera". Stuff.co.nz. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ^ "Blues edge Brumbies 20–19 to set up Super Rugby Pacific final against Crusaders". Stuff.co.nz. 11 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ "Super Rugby Pacific final: Crusaders beat Blues 21-7 to claim 11th title". BBC Sport. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
- ^ "Crusaders player ratings: Ruthless Sam Whitelock destroys Blues' lineout". Stuff.co.nz. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.