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Super Rugby Pacific takes: Cake Tin needs to be demo'd, Australian dominance deserved
By Ben Smith
The Blues continued their salvage mission against Moana Pasifika while the Australian sides took four of the top six spots on the ladder after the Chiefs were knocked off in Sydney.
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The Crusaders look back as genuine title contenders after a beatdown of the Hurricanes in the capital which wasn’t a good look for Wellington.
Here are four takes following round nine of Super Rugby Pacific.
Not the Crusaders again
When the Chiefs hosted the Crusaders in week two, they bullied Rob Penney’s side with Quinn Tupaea scoring a late double off the bench to cap a massive 49-24 win.
It looked like the Crusaders’ woes from the previous season would continue, and the Chiefs looked like they would right the wrongs of their 2024 final against the Blues as New Zealand’s best side.
In week nine the two are at different cross roads. The Crusaders jumped the Chiefs on the ladder to take the top spot after securing a scary away win over the Hurricanes.
It’s the kind of win that Crusaders’ titles of previous years were built on. The gritty win forms new expectations around the capability of this side and where they are headed.
While the Chiefs were flat and outgunned by the Waratahs. It was one-way traffic for most of the first half, the Waratahs were clearly the better side on the night and should’ve had more on the scoreboard. As far as title contention goes, it was the kind of game that made the Chiefs look like pretenders.
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The Crusaders and Chiefs will meet on May 10 in Christchurch for a rematch, but the Crusaders are looking scary again and result might be vastly different to week two.
Blues’ championship hangover has spoiled their season
The Blues have lifted themselves off the bottom of the ladder over the last two weeks with a 36-17 win over Moana Pasifika backing up last week’s win over the Hurricanes, but the championship hangover might not be over yet.
They face the new ladder-leaders and old rivals Crusaders next week, before a matchup with another top four side in the Reds.
Has any team gone from a championship to a wooden spoon in pro sport? That it is a feasible outcome for the Blues is baffling given the quality of the roster and number of All Blacks on it.
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The win over Moana showed that the Blues might be back in business, but the 2025 season is already a failure it must be said. They just shouldn’t be outside the six chasing the pack after breaking the drought and winning the title last year.
The biggest departure was Akira Ioane, to Japan, while two up and comers were lost to the Highlanders (Caleb Tangitau and Soane Vikena). By and large, it is the same roster with Beauden Barrett back after an offshore stint.
Something went very wrong at the Blues after the hunger disappeared. They were starving for a championship but got full after one. The Blues women powered onto back-to-back Aupiki titles last night, showing them how it’s done.
Australian dominance deserved
Australian rugby has been through so much pain and endurance to get to this point where four franchises sit in the top six of Super Rugby Pacific more than halfway through a season.
The 2010s were undoubtedly New Zealand’s greatest era of rugby, not just from the All Blacks, but below that, underpinned by five strong Super teams that were a cut above everyone else. They pounded teams from South Africa and Australia regularly as the competition looked to have too much imbalance. New Zealand teams took out seven of the 10 Super Rugby titles from 2010-19 with four different clubs.
There was the genius of the 2011 Queensland Reds and strength of the 2014 Waratahs, but none of the success lasted long. The Wallabies were receiving historic beatings through the back-end of that decade by the All Blacks.
But those days are well and truly over and 2025 is a statement season for Australian rugby having been reduced to four clubs.
The Waratahs rising up on the back of a five star performance from recruit Joseph Suaalii to knock over the top-seeded Chiefs was a chest-beating moment to signify this new era. It’s different now. The Australian teams are all more than competitive and its not just one side, usually the Brumbies, flying the nation’s flag.
Suaalii was a starter on the wing as a 15-year-old for the Australian schoolboys side in 2019 who beat their New Zealand counterparts for the first time in seven years, which was a sign of the tide changing. He’s here now and on the way to becoming the Wallabies’ global star.
Australian rugby has had to get up off the canvas and work tirelessly to get the system going and it’s great for Super Rugby Pacific it’s happening.
Tired old Cake Tin needs to be replaced
Wellington is a city in misery without much energy behind it, and that shows at any sporting fixture at the Cake Tin known as Sky Stadium.
The first residents of the new stadium at the turn of the Millenium were the star-studded Canes of old with new recruit Jonah Lomu, Christian Cullen and Tana Umaga providing many memorable nights and excitement.
There were few yellow seats available in those days as Wellington lapped up the ‘expect the unexpected’ mantra of their Super Rugby team and their heroes on the pitch. They didn’t win titles but they produced magic out wide better than any team. Times are very different now as even a top New Zealand derby fails to really get going.
The Crusaders fixture on Friday night was highly entertaining but there is no denying a lack of energy in-behind the Hurricanes these days in the capital. There was a superb crowd in Napier to host the Drua earlier in the season whereas Wellington seems to be out of love with rugby.
It’s got a football team to compete with, but the left-leaning capital just doesn’t seem to be interested anymore. There’s been provincial rugby games played at Sky Stadium in front of what looks like 500 people or less.
Would a new stadium help? Perhaps not, but the sight of empty yellow seats is a continual blight on any sport that holds a game there.
Knocking it down and rebuilding as a smaller capacity indoor stadium, fit for just rugby and football with modern day technology wouldn’t be a bad idea although there isn’t funding for it. The refurbed Allianz Stadium in Sydney where the Waratahs hosted the Chiefs after the Crusaders-Hurricanes game just looked spectacular in comparison.
It’s been 25 years but the Cake Tin looks past its used by date and the sooner it is knocked down and rebuilt, the better. The All Blacks wouldn’t miss it either.
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The Crusaders are looking scary again? You have short term memory loss. Let’s not forget that they got absolutely smashed by Moana Pacifika only a couple of weeks ago. And the Hurricanes could’ve at least salvaged a draw if they were playing to their potential and did not completely stuff it up.
When the Crusaders lost their games this year, they played poorly, absolutely deserved to lose and didn’t even get close to winning. Meanwhile the Chiefs still could’ve won the games they lost.
And Wellington isn’t a left-leaning city. House prices are insane, their council is tied up with red tape and buried with paperwork, and young people and minorities are still struggling. Don’t forget they, among many others, were unhappy about the Poua’s haka performances last year. Keep your politics out of this.
It’s not rocket-science, the Aussies finally reduce by a team, which NZ rugby has been suggesting for years, and NZ essentially thin their talent further by adding Moana Pasifika, who are just a sixth side promoted as an ‘island’ one. Frankly none of the NZ sides are particularly good this year, so it appears less of a case of the Aussies being that much better, more that the NZ sides have slid down to their level.
As for the Cake Tin. That and Eden Park in particular are just far too big for today’s Super and NPC crowds. Both cities would be better off finding a good 10,000-15,000-seater stadium. That might create some demand for tickets, and some much needed atmosphere.
Why is it always Wellington that gets smacked around like this? The Blues cant fill Eden Park yet their city boasts nearly 3 times the amount of people. Also, what’s with the weird political swipe? The current right wing govt has taken a buzz saw to govt jobs, has failed to address the cost of living, and overseen a sustain period of economic contraction. Is it any surprise people are pulling on their purse strings and not spending on nice to haves like rugby tickets?
And with all that said, I also agree, the turn out is sad. But there is a mismatch between how much the media thinks this country is rugby mad and the actual reality of rugby fandom in this country. Maybe the powers that be should target families and students with cheaper prices.
Demo the stadium? Is this guy for real? When it actually has people in it the atmosphere is as good as anywhere in the country. Wellington has a long list of problems that contributes to this. They need to find a way to get people to the stadium. The way the rugby media constantly ignores the hurricanes and lions doesn’t help.
That’s nothing to do with the Cake Tin. It could use some mods for sure, but far too much emphasis is put on shape, it’s just an excuse for those that don’t want to go anymore.
Now Wellington could do with a nice boutique 12-15k stadium that it would make more sense to have as the Canes home. They can take the big games to the Cake Tin if and when they get them.
Author has clearly never bothered to never read anything Wellington-related in the past year or so. If he had, he’d know why no one is showing up immediately.
Can’t say I’ve been in any Wellington circles, whats the gist of sentiments?
What a dumb article. Clearly not going to happen.
What else does one expect from Ben Smith. He's well overdue for retirement.