Crusaders miss out as Super Rugby seedings, match-ups confirmed

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The Christchurch-based Crusaders have won seven Super Rugby titles in the last seven years but this year’s playoffs will be notable mainly for their absence.

The Crusaders’ last-ditch bid to claim a quarterfinal berth failed as they were shuffled out of contention in the hectic scramble for places in the last eight over the final weekend of the regular season.

Their home win over Moana Pasifika on Friday lifted the Crusaders briefly into eighth place but they dropped back to ninth when the Fijian Drua beat the Melbourne Rebels in Lautoka in the first of Saturday’s four matches.

The result meant the Drua and Rebels both went through to the playoffs, the Drua for the second consecutive season and the Rebels for the first time in their 14-year history which is also their last year in Super Rugby.

Rugby Australia announced on Thursday, just before the Rebels headed to Fiji, that the Melbourne team’s license to compete in Super Rugby would not be renewed next year because of financial instability. That means the Rebels club will disband as soon as their playoffs run ends.

That was one of a number of somber notes in the weekend’s round. Several notable careers ended with the Crusaders’ elimination: the All Blacks props Joe Moody and Owen Franks and center Ryan Crotty all are retiring at the end of the season. All have been World Cup winners.

Franks, 36, will move to Japan where he will become a forwards coach of the Japan national team under Australian head coach Eddie Jones. Moody, 35, likely will return to farming if he isn’t convinced to give the Crusaders one more season. Crotty’s plans aren’t clear.

“I feel like I’ve still got a bit of life left in these bones to smack out another season of footy,” Moody said before Friday’s match. “At the same time if that doesn’t happen you’ll probably catch me in the back blocks somewhere playing with some cattle or sitting on a tractor.”

Moana Pasifika also farewelled players who have been a key part of its three years in Super Rugby. Former Wallabies prop Sekope Kepu and flyhalf Christian Lealiifano are also retiring from Super Rugby. Kepu won a Super Rugby title with the New South Wales Waratahs and is expected to continue playing in New Zealand at provincial level.

The Crusaders organization announced a review of the 2024 season almost as soon as the final whistle sounded in Lautoka, ending the team’s playoff chances.

“Regardless of result or position on the competition table we remain proud of our team, of our club and the huge mahi (work) put in across the entire organization to deliver the season that has been,” chief executive Colin Mainsbridge said.

“Many results didn’t go our way and at times our onfield performance was not at the level we expect of ourselves. Fine margins define results and table position and we lost six of our games by less than seven points.”

The Wellington-based Hurricanes finished atop the table after taking a bonus point from their last regular season match against the Dunedin-based Highlanders. The Hurricanes and Auckland-based Blues entered the last round of the regular season level on 51 points but the Blues missed out on first place when the Hamilton-Chiefs scored a last-minute try which denied the Blues a bonus point.

The Blues were disappointed to have missed first place, which carries home advantage throughout the playoffs. But head coach Vern Cotter looked to the bright side.

“If you had given me that score at the start of the season, I would have taken that over the Chiefs,” Cotter said. “The danger of finishing first is suddenly your feet are off the ground.

“We know we’ve got a lot of work to do. It wasn’t a total performance.”

Standings and quarterfinal match-ups now have been confirmed with the Hurricanes finishing first, Blues second, ACT Brumbies third, Chiefs fourth, Queensland Reds fifth, Highlanders sixth, Drua seventh and Rebels eighth.’

The Chiefs play the Reds in Hamilton and the Hurricanes play the Rebels in Wellington on Friday. The Blues play the Drua in Auckland and the Brumbies play the Highlanders in Canberra on Saturday.

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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby