{"id":18177,"date":"2023-06-23T11:26:12","date_gmt":"2023-06-22T23:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/?p=18177"},"modified":"2023-06-23T11:26:12","modified_gmt":"2023-06-22T23:26:12","slug":"aisle-be-back-the-super-rugby-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/2023\/06\/23\/aisle-be-back-the-super-rugby-final\/","title":{"rendered":"Aisle be Back: The Super Rugby Final"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Hurricanes fans celebrate their team &#8211; maybe next year for success!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\n\t\t<style>\n\t\t\t#wpls-logo-showcase-slider-1 .wpls-fix-box,\n\t\t\t#wpls-logo-showcase-slider-1 .wpls-fix-box img.wp-post-image{max-height:250px; }\n\t\t<\/style>\n\n\t\t<div class=\"wpls-wrap wpls-logo-showcase-slider-wrp wpls-logo-clearfix wpls-design-1 \" data-conf=\"{&quot;slides_column&quot;:4,&quot;slides_scroll&quot;:1,&quot;dots&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;arrows&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;autoplay&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;autoplay_interval&quot;:3000,&quot;loop&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;rtl&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;speed&quot;:800,&quot;center_mode&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;lazyload&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wpls-logo-showcase logo_showcase wpls-logo-slider  sliderimage_hide_border \" id=\"wpls-logo-showcase-slider-1\" >\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.roblawmax.co.nz\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/rmax24.jpg?fit=220%2C120&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.geeksonwheels.co.nz\/locations\/wellington-computer-repair\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/images.jpg?fit=296%2C170&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/thecallcentre.co.nz\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/TCC-Logo-400x260-1.jpg?fit=400%2C260&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.partnersfinance.co.nz\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/part2.jpg?fit=300%2C195&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>By Kevin McCarthy\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We have reached what I would call the Facebook stage of the season.<\/p>\n<p>What this means for a Hurricanes fan, as in just about every season I can remember, consists of watching other teams \u2013 well the Crusaders and the Chiefs &#8211; having their very best lives on Facebook or whatever social media platform you choose.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, as social media is implicitly evil, you may well find it showing up a memory from seven years ago when the Canes actually did win a title and enjoy their very best rugby life.<\/p>\n<p>Oh well it is what it is, and we do have the prospect of the very best two teams going head to head in the final of Super Rugby Pacific on Saturday night in the Tron.<\/p>\n<p>I guess the wise man and woman would have predicted that right from the very start &#8211; when the Chiefs toppled the Crusaders away in Christchurch in the very first round &#8211; that these teams would meet again and so it comes to pass.<\/p>\n<p>I don&#8217;t know where your money is but there are lots of side stories going on. \u00a0Scott Robertson in this final season as coach for the Crusaders, Richie Mo\u2019unga off to Japan, so his final game \u2013 and\u00a0 again, \u00a0Sam Whitelock in his final game if he manages to get on the field.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the motivation for the southerners and of course just that absolute ruthlessness in seeking yet another title<\/p>\n<p>On the other side,\u00a0 sit the Chiefs, and they are by no means imposters in this whole scenario as we all know.<\/p>\n<p>Their motivation of course is to not let this pretty stellar season go to waste. They topped the table during regular season and now will want to bring the trophy to Hamilton.<\/p>\n<p>I know that he should say that the Crusaders may sneak this one again; they&#8217;re well used to playing away and still winning titles.<\/p>\n<p>But it may be a bit of a cauldron in Hamilton on Saturday night. Clayton McMillan of course has been urging people in the 25,000 sold out crowd to bring the cowbells. We all know what a cacophony that will be.<\/p>\n<p>It should be an absolute belter again. The Chiefs seem to have a capacity to wear a lot of punishment and dish it out as well \u2013 while the Saders we know will take their opportunities ruthlessly and also defend very staunchly.<\/p>\n<p>It all may come down as always to what the first-fives can do with the quality of ball that they get. You probably wouldn&#8217;t have written a couple of years ago that Damien McKenzie would be playing at first-five \u00a0as his preferred position. Now we will get another chance to see how DMac performs at the very, very pointy end.<\/p>\n<p>And you can safely expect that Shaun Stevenson will play the house down. He still seems to be the major talking point of the All Black \u00a0squad this week \u2013 Stevenson is number 37 in a 36-strong squad i.e., injury cover.<\/p>\n<p>I still think he&#8217;s going to be on the plane to France given that we&#8217;ve got a few more games to go and a few more injuries to reveal themselves \u00a0before then.<\/p>\n<p>++++++<\/p>\n<p>Great to have confirmation that W X V is coming to New Zealand later this year. I thought for a moment that W X\u00a0 V might be the latest sports use or misuse of Roman numerals and went looking for what W was in Latin numeracy. Well, as I am sure you know, it isn\u2019t \u2013 although M is there, standing for a thousand, so if you flip a W you get an M.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a long way to saying could we just have a simpler title for the event?\u00a0 The event being effectively the top six women\u2019s teams playing in two pools, but not playing within those said pools.\u00a0 There will be no semi or final after that and its done and dusted in three weekends.\u00a0 It took me a while to work that out, as the original publicity was scant on \u201chow does this work\u201d and other annoying information that fans might want.<\/p>\n<p>Strictly this is W X V 1 (or should that be W X V I) as there are two other tiers, W X V\u00a0 2 and W X V 3 at the same time.<\/p>\n<p>What I can confirm, there is top level women\u2019s rugby coming again to our shores. Yes, it will clash with that event over in France, but hey, we all might need some welcome distraction by that time.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\n\t\t<style>\n\t\t\t#wpls-logo-showcase-slider-2 .wpls-fix-box,\n\t\t\t#wpls-logo-showcase-slider-2 .wpls-fix-box img.wp-post-image{max-height:250px; }\n\t\t<\/style>\n\n\t\t<div class=\"wpls-wrap wpls-logo-showcase-slider-wrp wpls-logo-clearfix wpls-design-1 \" data-conf=\"{&quot;slides_column&quot;:4,&quot;slides_scroll&quot;:1,&quot;dots&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;arrows&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;autoplay&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;autoplay_interval&quot;:3000,&quot;loop&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;rtl&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;speed&quot;:800,&quot;center_mode&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;lazyload&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wpls-logo-showcase logo_showcase wpls-logo-slider  sliderimage_hide_border \" id=\"wpls-logo-showcase-slider-2\" >\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.roblawmax.co.nz\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/rmax24.jpg?fit=220%2C120&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.geeksonwheels.co.nz\/locations\/wellington-computer-repair\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/images.jpg?fit=296%2C170&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/thecallcentre.co.nz\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/TCC-Logo-400x260-1.jpg?fit=400%2C260&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.partnersfinance.co.nz\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/part2.jpg?fit=300%2C195&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hurricanes fans celebrate their team &#8211; maybe next year for success!\u00a0 By Kevin McCarthy\u00a0 We have reached what I would call the Facebook stage of the season. What this means for a Hurricanes fan, as in just about every season I can remember, consists of watching other teams \u2013 well the Crusaders and the Chiefs&#8230;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-club-rugby-news","category-super-rugby"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/A76I6207-fans-X3.jpg?fit=960%2C590&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbDiON-4Jb","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18177"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18184,"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18177\/revisions\/18184"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}