Crusaders motivated to make a 10th Super Rugby final appearance
The Crusaders, who started off the current season in bad shape, are determined to play their 10th final of the Super Rugby Championship. The New Zealand Derby is taking on the South African franchise, Stormers, in the semi-final contest on Saturday,
July 2, in Newlands in hopes of getting a chance to grab the title in the final.
The Crusaders were struck with large injuries and lost many key players in the round matches. To add to their troubles, their home town Christchurch was struck by a powerful tremor on February 22 and they lost their home stadium. However, they remained consistent
with their performance and concluded the regular season with third position on the tables.
The Crusaders have won the most titles of Super Rugby since the inception of the championship in 1996. They have won the Super Rugby trophy seven times including three in a row as they completed the hat-trick in 2000. The Crusaders last appeared in the final
of Super Rugby in 2008.
Their assistant coach, Daryl Gibson, talked to the media on the morning of July 2 and said that his side is ready to take on the Stormers and hoped to play the final on July 9. The coach further said that there are flaws in his side defending lines which
would be covered in the match.
The head coach of the Crusaders, Todd Blackadder, also spoke to reporters and said that his team will enter the field expecting victory. He further said that, “We've just come too far to let this slip. We're absolutely bloody determined that we are not going
to let this one slip and we are going to make the most of this opportunity and put a good performance in .We manage our weeks really well and travel won't be a factor this week. We'll be absolutely fine.”
Blackadder asked his players to give their best performance in the match to give the people of Christchurch something to cheer about. He said, “We're a beacon of hope for our community, and the guys want to do well for our supporters because they're going
through such hardships. The players know that people back home don't have running water and power, and that they're scared.”
The semi-final match will be played in Newlands at 5:05pm local time on July 2.
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