Rugby Union

Blues v Crusaders en la final del Súper Rugby Pacific 2022

The Crusaders will be out to cement their status as the dominant team in Super Rugby as they face the Blues in the inaugural Super Rugby Pacific Final.

The ten-time champions have peaked at the right time to remind everyone of their talent following a couple of shock defeats in the regular season. Catch every minute of the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific Final on Stan Sport. Start your Free Sport Trial Now Rugby.com.au has looked back at how they got to the finals, pinpointing the key moments and matches that defined their season.

Este fin de semana quedaron definidos los finalistas del Súper Rugby Pacific 2022. Uno será el que siempre está, Crusaders, que venció a Chiefs por 20-7. El otro será uno que vuelve Blues, que venció con lo justo a Brumbies. El partido será el sábado (4:00 de Buenos Aires, 9:00 de Madrid), en Auckland.

Crusaders 20 – 7 Chiefs

CRUSADERS 1. George Bower, 2. Codie Taylor, 3. Oli Jager, 4. Scott Barrett (c), 5. Sam Whitelock, 6. Pablo Matera, 7. Tom Christie, 8. Cullen Grace; 9. Bryn Hall, 10. Richie Mo’unga, 11. Leicester Fainga’anuku, 12. David Havili (vc), 13. Josh Goodhue, 14. Sevu Reece, 15. Will Jordan. Finalizadores: 16. Brodie McAllister, 17. Tamaiti Williams, 18. Fletcher Newell, 19. Zach Gallagher, 20. Corey Kellow, 21. Mitchell Drummond, 22. Braydon Ennor, 23. George Bridge.

Ensayos: Grace (2) Conv: Mo’unga (2) Pens: Mo’unga (2)

CHIEFS 1. Aidan Ross, 2. Samisoni Taukei’aho, 3. Angus Ta’avao, 4. Brodie Retallick, 5. Tupou Vaa’i, 6. Samipeni Finau, 7. Luke Jacobson, 8. Pita Gus Sowakula; 9. Brad Weber (c), 10. Bryn Gatland, 11. Etene Nanai-Seturo, 12. Quinn Tupaea, 13. Alex Nankivell, 14. Jonah Lowe, 15. Josh Ioane. Finalizadores: 16. Bradley Slater, 17. Ollie Norris, 18. George Dyer, 19. Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 20. Sam Cane, 21. Xavier Roe, 22. Rameka Poihipi 23. Chase Tiatia.

Ensayos: Ta’avao. Conv: Gatland

Estadio: Orangetheory Stadium, Christchurch. Árbitro: Nic Berry

Blues 20 – 19 Brumbies

BLUES 1. Alex Hodgman, 2. Kurt Eklund, 3. Nepo Laulala, 4. Josh Goodhue, 5. Tom Robinson, 6. Akira Ioane, 7. Adrian Choat, 8. Hoskins Sotutu; 9. Finlay Christie, 10. Beauden Barrett (c), 11. Mark Telea, 12. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, 13. Rieko Ioane, 14. AJ Lam, 15. Stephen Perofeta. Finalizadores: 16. Soane Vikena, 17. Karl Tu’inukuafe, 18. Ofa Tuungafasi, 19. Luke Romano, 20. James Tucker, 21. Sam Nock, 22. Tamati Tua, 23. Zarn Sullivan.

Ensayos: Sotutu, Telea | Conv: Perofeta (2) | Pens: Perofeta (2)

BRUMBIES 1. James Slipper, 2. Folau Fainga’a, 3. Allan Alaalatoa (c), 4. Darcy Swain, 5. Caderyn Neville, 6. Tom Hooper, 7. Pete Samu, 8. Rob Valetini, 9. Nic White, 10. Noah Lolesio, 11. Andy Muirhead, 12. Irae Simone, 13. Ollie Sapsfor, 14. Tom Wright, 15. Tom Banks, Finalizadores: 16. Lachlan Lonergan, 17. Scott Sio, 18. Sefo Kautai, 19. Nick Frost, 20. Luke Reimer, 21. Jahrome Brown, 22. Ryan Lonergan, 23. Hudson Creighton.

Pablo Matera’s cards dismissed, free to play Super Rugby final

Former Argentina captain Pablo Matera has been cleared to play for the Crusaders against the Blues in the Super Rugby Pacific final on Saturday after a judicial panel ruled the four yellow cards he has received this season showed “no pattern of concern.”

Pablo Matera has been cleared to play for the Crusaders in the Super Rugby Pacific final against the Blues on Saturday. (Source: Photosport)

Matera appeared before the SANZAAR panel on Tuesday night after receiving two yellow cards in the semi-final with the Chiefs.

The first yellow in the 20th minute was for team offending after the Crusaders conceded a series of penalties in defence. His second yellow in the 32nd minute was converted to a red by Australian referee Nic Berry and came when his shoulder contacted the head of Chiefs flyhalf Bryn Gatland in a standing tackle.

The judicial panel, chaired by lawyer Nigel Hampton, found there were exceptional circumstances which meant no further penalty against Matera was warranted.

“Having conducted a detailed review of all the evidence in relation to the four yellow cards and having considered the evidence and submissions on behalf of the player, together with the surrounding circumstances, the committee was satisfied that there was no pattern of persistent offending by the player which was of concern,” the panel said in a statement.

“Two of the yellow cards were given for technical offences (that is, not foul play) and those two technical offences were of a different nature to each other. The remaining two yellow cards again were for offences of a different nature and showed no pattern of concern.”

The decision is a major boost for the Crusaders who are already without injured All Blacks back-rower Ethan Blackadder.

How to watch Fijian Drua Super Rugby Pacific 2022 in Fiji

The Fijian Drua will be based in Lennox Head in New South Wales for the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season. The seaside town on the Far North Coast is situated 20 minutes south of Byron Bay and a one-hour drive from the Gold Coast.

The Drua squad will assemble this week at the Lake Ainsworth Sport and Recreation Centre, where the players will live and train for the next eight months.

Interim CEO Brian Thorburn said it wasn’t easy finding a location where the team could base itself for such an extended period.

“We needed to find a home base where the team could initially prepare over a three-month period until the end of January 2022, which then could be used as a home base between Super Rugby Pacific matches during the 2022 season,” he said.

How to watch Fijian Drua Super Rugby Pacific 2022

All 91 Super Rugby games will be available to watch live on Stan.

You can sign up for the streaming service here.

The weekly Saturday night match will be simulcast live free-to-air on the Nine Network.

Fijian Drua Super Rugby Pacific Schedule

The Fijian Drua embark on their historic Super Rugby journey with an away match in Auckland against the Blues on 19 February 2022. The Super Rugby Pacific draw, which sees the inclusion of the Drua and fellow competition newcomers Moana Pasifika, was announced today by joint venture partners New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and Rugby Australia (RA).

At a glance, the Fijian Drua’s matches are as follows:

Round	Date	Draw	Venue	Kick-off(Fiji time)
1	Sat 19 Feb	Blues vs Fijian Drua	Eden Park, Auckland	3.35pm
2	Sat 26 Feb	Fijian Drua vs Western Force	AAMI Park, Melbourne	8.45pm
3	Sat 5 Mar	Fijian Drua vs Highlanders	TBC	3.50pm
4	Fri 11 Mar	Rebels vs Fijian Drua	AAMI Park, Melbourne	8.45pm
5	Sat 19 Mar	Fijian Drua vs Chiefs	TBC	6:05pm
6	Sat 26 Mar	Fijian Drua vs Waratahs	TBC	TBC
7		Bye
8	Fri 8 Apr	Hurricanes vs Fijian Drua	Sky Stadium, Wellington	7.05pm
9	Fri 15 Apr	Fijian Drua vs Brumbies	TBC	9.45pm
10	Sat 23 Apr	Moana Pasifika vs Fijian Drua	Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland	7.05pm
11	Sat 30 Apr	Fijian Drua vs Rebels	TBC	9.45pm
12	Sat 7 May	Waratahs vs Fijian Drua	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	9.45pm
13	Fri 13 May	Crusaders vs Fijian Drua	Orangetheory Stadium, Christchurch	7.05pm
14	Fri 20 May	Fijian Drua vs Moana Pasifika	TBC	9.45pm
15	Sat 28 May	Reds vs Fijian Drua	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane	9.45pm

Super Rugby Pacific trials schedule announced for 2022 | how to Watch

With the countdown to Super Rugby Pacific more than underway, teams are starting to put the final touches to their pre-season campaigns. After gruelling blocks of training, the Australian teams and Fijian Drua will begin trials this week as they put what they learnt into action ahead of a crucial 2022 season.

The action will begin this Saturday as the Waratahs welcome the Brumbies to Bowral Rugby Club, which will be live through NSW Rugby TV powered by Clutch.

It will also feature the reigning Super W Champions Waratahs facing off in an intra-squad City v Country Origin match as they begin preparations to defend their near five-year unbeaten streak.

Darren Coleman’s side will then face a selection of Shute Shield sides Western Sydney Two Blues, West Harbour and Hunter Wildfires in 25-minute thirds at the brand-new Eric Tweedale Stadium in Granville on Saturday February 5.

They will round out their preparations at Roma on February 12 against the Reds at Roma Echidnas Rugby Club.

The game will be shown on the Reds’ YouTube channel, as well as their clash against the Force on February 5 at Ballymore.

Meanwhile, the Brumbies have confirmed they will host an intra-squad trial after the match against the Waratahs they start the regular season against the Western Force on February 19.

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Finally, the Rebels will ramp up their preparations in a crucial hitout against the Drua on Thursday February 12 at Harlequins.

They will be looking to build after their emphatic 35-14 win over the Waratahs in a pre-Christmas trial.

Both the Rebels ‘A’ and Brumbies Runners will then face off twice on February 12 and March 26.

The February trial will act as a double header with their respective Super W sides as they look to build ahead of a crucial season.

The Western Force were set to play the Fijian Drua in Ballina, however, the trial was cancelled due to border controls.

Further broadcasting details for the trials will be confirmed in the coming days

Super Rugby Pacific trials 2022

*all times local

Saturday, January 29: NSW Waratahs v Brumbies/Super W: Waratahs City v Waratahs Country, Bowral Blacks Rugby Club, Bowral (5:30 pm) – Live on NSW Rugby TV
Saturday, February 5: Waratahs v Shute Shield sides Western Sydney Two Blues, West Harbour and Hunter Wildfire, Eric Tweedale Oval, Granville (from 4:00 pm)
Saturday, February 5: Queensland Reds vs Western Force, Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane – Live on Reds YouTube/Website
Thursday, February 10: Melbourne Rebels v Fijian Drua, Harlequins Rugby Club, Melbourne (6:00 pm)
Saturday, February 12: Queensland Reds v NSW Waratahs, Roma Echidnas Rugby Club, Roma (7:30 pm) – Live on Reds YouTube/Website
Saturday, February 12: Brumbies W v Melbourne Rebels, Lavington Sports Ground, Albury (2:00 pm)
Saturday, February 12: Brumbies Runners v Melbourne Rebels A, Lavington Sports Ground, Albury (2:00 pm)
Saturday, March 26: Brumbies Runners v Melbourne Rebels A, Greenfield Park (2:00 pm)

Brumbies are preparing to shock the NZ Super Rugby sides

Its a well known fact that Australia’s Super Rugby establishments have battled to foot it with their Kiwi partners as of late, however the Brumbies are hoping to change that in 2022.

The Canberra-based outfit is trusting the beginning of Super Rugby Pacific will carry with it an adjustment of fortunes this year after they tumbled to four misfortunes from five matches against New Zealand resistance in Super Rugby Trans-Tasman last year.

They were one of just two groups, close by the Reds, to enlist triumphs over Kiwi sides last year, with Australian groups persevering through a grim cross-line crusade that saw them win an aggregate absolute of two matches from 25 apparatuses.

That helpless return came after Australian clubs experienced an eye-popping winless run of 40 matches against New Zealand groups somewhere in the range of 2016 and 2018.

Since that streak was broken, the Australians have still just supported a success pace of just shy of 22% against Kiwi establishments, and that inlet in class was underscored when Super Rugby Aotearoa and Super Rugby AU combined in 2021.

However, brumbies supervisor Dan McKellar is naturally anxious for that to change. Assuming his side are to have any possibility of trying for the debut Super Rugby Pacific title, ordinary successes over New Zealand groups is non-debatable.

How McKellar plans for those triumphs to come has been reflected in his patched up pre-season preparing program, which he says has been changed determined to turn out to be “all the more remarkable” to bring down “the best groups in the opposition”.

“It’s totally different. Our way to deal with preparing is pre-seasons are in every case extremely intense here and it’s the same this year,” McKellar told columnists on Tuesday.

“Most likely more centered for the current year around speed, deftness, power, quality over amount. Last year was a genuine molding concentration, and I’m not saying that was correct or wrong, yet we’ve had a change by they way we train this year.

“The players have unquestionably liked that and we simply feel that, collectively, we presumably should be somewhat yet more remarkable, particularly against the best groups in the opposition.”

McKellar’s mission to evade the pattern of Kiwi strength in Brumbies Super Rugby – which won’t start until cycle nine because of the Covid-authorized draw amendment – has been helped by the way that he has solid crew profundity available to him.