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The sun set on Ellis Park and the 2017 Super Rugby season as Jaco Peyper’s final whistle rang out announcing the Crusaders as your new Southern Hemisphere champions. However, it wasn’t without controversy and a few talking points came out of the 25-17 result, which saw the Lions crash to their second failure on the biggest stage there is.
- Kwagga Smith got the second most embarrassing send off of all time. OK, Smith was unlucky but fully deserved his early shower. Red cards have a habit of being unfortunate but hard to argue with these days, especially given the precedent set with challenging other players catching the call. However, the Lions flanker managed to literally kiss David Havili’s backside in the process – and then come off second best injury-wise despite the Crusaders fullback almost landing on his head. At least he didn’t start a fight he was never going to win, get knocked out and then get sent off, though.
- Michael Alalaatoa has improved a hell of a lot. The big Crusaders prop made a real impact when he came on in the second half, one of a couple of obviously pre-planned changes that Scott Robertson made at halftime. The big man was a force at scrum time and in open field play, an has had a huge season.
- Ellis Park can be as loud as an airport…and as quiet as a tomb. Thanks to the highly officious South African border service, barely any Crusaders fans were able to make the trip to Johannesburg. Turns out you need to apply for an entry visa to South Africa months in advance if you’re coming from NZ, and it was evident on the match footage that there was no red and black presence in the vast stands. It meant that the volume level was enormous for the period up until Seta Tamanivalu ran away and scored, when you could suddenly hear a pin drop.
- Faf de Klerk should’ve come on a lot earlier. It was no coincidence that the Lions’ valiant but fruitless comeback coincided with the little halfback’s entrance to the action. He played a huge role in Malcolm Marx’s try, and played like he’d drank a triple strength dose of pre-workout. If only the rest of his team had had the same attitude at kickoff – sadly it’s de Klerk’s last game for the Lions.
- Ryan Crotty just reminded everyone how good he is. The All Black midfielder is often unfairly labeled as ‘competent’ or ‘unspectacular’, but he showed just how much of a game-breaker he is in a Man Of The Match performance. He has to be odds-on favourite to start in the number 12 jersey for the All Blacks in a couple of weeks, whether Sonny Bill Williams is free to play or not.
- This might be the start of a dynasty. The last week has seen a ton of player movement in the New Zealand Super Rugby franchises, with one notable exception – the Crusaders. This team will remain more or less intact for next season, and is full of guys that won’t have any plans to leave for a few years at least. The fact that a guy like Mitch Hunt has signed on despite being a likely starter at another team like the Blues, or cashing up and going overseas, speaks volumes.
- Beer tankards as individual player prizes are way better than medals. Good move by the organisers to make this post match decision. The winners can toast their success, and the losers can drown their sorrows.
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