2022 Super Rugby Pacific final

2022 Super Rugby Pacific Final
Event	2022 Super Rugby Pacific season
Date	18 June 2022
Venue	Eden Park, Auckland
Man of the Match	Sam Whitelock (Crusaders)
Referee	Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)
Attendance	45,000
	← 2019 2023 →

Last updated July 25, 2024

The 2022 Super Rugby Pacific Final was played between the Blues and the Crusaders, both of New Zealand. It was the 25th final in the Super Rugby competition's history, and the first since 2019 after the 2020 Super Rugby season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and regional tournaments were played in the 2021 Super Rugby season. The Blues had qualified in first place on the regular season standings, while the Crusaders had qualified in second place. Both teams hosted quarter-final and semi-final matches.

The final was won by the Crusaders who beat the Blues by fourteen points. The Crusaders stretched their record number of Super Rugby wins to eleven, while also stretching their number of titles won to thirteen, having won both the 2020 Super Rugby Aotearoa season and 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa season.^[1]

Road to the final

Finals Series qualifying teams
Top 8 finishers
Pos	Team	W	D	L	PD	BP	Pts
1	Blues	13	0	1	188	6	58
2	Crusaders	11	0	3	202	8	52
3	Chiefs	10	0	4	105	5	45
4	Brumbies	10	0	4	98	4	44
5	Hurricanes	8	0	6	111	7	39
6	Waratahs	8	0	6	48	6	38
7	Reds	8	0	6	15	3	35
8	Highlanders	4	0	10	3	7	23
Source:^[2]

The 2022 season was a 12-team competition. The conference system from previous years was removed, with a single table introduced instead. Two new teams debuted in the 2022 season, with the Drua, representing Fiji, and Moana Pasifika, representing Pacific Islands heritage players, joining the five New Zealand sides and five Australian sides, following the full-time return of the Force to the competition. The top 4 sides in the competition earned home quarter finals, with the following four sides in the table playing against them.

The Blues had finished top of the overall table, having won thirteen of their fourteen fixtures round robin fixtures, and had won fifteen fixtures in a row heading into the final. The Crusaders had finished second overall having won eleven of their round robin fixtures. Heading into the fixture, Stephen Perofeta of the Blues was the competition's top points scorer, with 127 points, while Leicester Fainga'anuku and Will Jordan, both of the Crusaders, were the competition's top try scorers, both with ten tries.

In the quarter-finals the Blues beat fellow New Zealand team the Highlanders while the Crusaders beat the Reds. For the semi-finals, it was the Blues defeating the Brumbies in Auckland and the Crusaders defeating the Chiefs in Christchurch. Because of being the higher-placed team in the regular season log standings, the final was held in Auckland.

Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final

4 June – Auckland

Blues	35
		11 June — Auckland
Highlanders	6
		Blues	20
4 June – Canberra
		Brumbies	19
Brumbies	35
				18 June — Auckland
Hurricanes	25
				Blues	7
3 June – Christchurch
				Crusaders	21
Crusaders	37
		10 June – Christchurch
Reds	15
		Crusaders	20
4 June – Hamilton
		Chiefs	7
Chiefs	39

Waratahs	15

Quarterfinals

	3 June 2022	Crusaders	37–15	Reds	Orangetheory Stadium, Christchurch
	19:05 (GMT +12)	Try: Jordan 15' Mo'unga 57' Reece 65' Williams 74' Con: Mo'unga (4/4) 16', 58', 66', 76' Pen: Mo'unga (3/3) 10', 32', 39'	Report	Try: Vunivalu 25' Daugunu 43' Con: Creighton (1/2) 44' Pen: Creighton (1/1) 6'	Referee: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)

	4 June 2022	Chiefs	39–15	Waratahs	FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
	16:35 (GMT +12)	Try: Weber (2) 6', 64' L. Jacobson 22' Nankivell 34' Sowakula 71' Con: Gatland (4/5) 7', 23', 36', 72' Pen: Gatland (2/2) 3', 40+1'	Report	Try: Pietsch 8' Harris 46' Con: Edmed (1/2) 10' Pen: Edmed (1/1) 19'	Attendance: 10,121^[3] Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)

	4 June 2022	Blues	35–6	Highlanders	Eden Park, Auckland
	19:05 (GMT +12)	Try: A. Ioane 31' Barrett (2) 35', 48' Lam 59' Tuivasa-Sheck 69' Con: Perofeta (5/5) 33', 37', 49', 60', 70'	Report	Pen: Banks (2/2) 5', 30' Cards: Makalio 22'	Attendance: 23,500^[4] Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)

	4 June 2022	Brumbies	35–25	Hurricanes	GIO Stadium, Canberra
	19:45 (GMT +10)	Try: Fainga'a 25' Simone 31' Banks 64' Wright 74' Con: White (1/1) 33' Lolesio (2/3) 66', 76' Pen: Lolesio (3/3) 8', 48', 61' Cards: Ikitau 23'	Report	Try: Moorby (2) 17', 39' Pen: Barrett (5/5) 4', 11', 23', 35', 42' Cards: Franks 25' Rayasi 73'	Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)

Semifinals

	10 June 2022	Crusaders	20–7	Chiefs	Orangetheory Stadium, Christchurch
	19:05 (GMT +12)	Try: Grace (2) 23', 35' Con: Mo'unga (2/2) 25', 37' Pen: Mo'unga (2/3) 6', 9' Cards: Matera 20' Matera 32'	Report	Try: Ta'avao 27' Con: Gatland (1/1) 28' Cards: Tupaea 8'	Attendance: 15,000^[5] Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)

	11 June 2022	Blues	20–19	Brumbies	Eden Park, Auckland
	19:05 (GMT +12)	Try: Sotutu 23' Tele'a 34' Con: Perofeta (2/2) 24', 36' Pen: Perofeta (2/2) 10', 21' Cards: Eklund 52' Choat 75'	Report	Try: Simone 3' L. Lonergan (2) 59', 76' Con: Lolesio (2/3) 4', 78'	Attendance: 26,900^[6] Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)

Match

The final was held at Eden Park in Auckland. Weather conditions were wet with persistent drizzle.^[7] It is thought to be the first major rugby union final where both sides have been captained by brothers, with Beauden Barrett captaining the Blues and Scott Barrett captaining the Crusaders. Two other sets of brothers also played in the fixture, with the Goodhue brothers (Jack for the Crusaders and Josh for the Blues) and the Ioane brothers (Akira and Rieko both for the Blues) joining the Barrett brothers in the fixture.

Details

18 June 2022
19:05

Blues	7–21	Crusaders
Try: Christie 59' Con: Perofeta (1/1) 60'	Report Match Summary	Try: Hall 39' Reece 76' Con: Mo'unga (1/2) 40+1' Pen: Mo'unga (2/3) 30', 46' Drop: Mo'unga 13'

Eden Park, Auckland
Attendance: 45,000^[1]
Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)

Blues

Crusaders


FB	15	Stephen Perofeta
RW	14	AJ Lam
OC	13	Rieko Ioane
IC	12	Roger Tuivasa-Sheck	45'
LW	11	Mark Tele'a	78'
FH	10	Beauden Barrett (c)
SH	9	Finlay Christie	72'
N8	8	Hoskins Sotutu	40'	44'
OF	7	Adrian Choat			47'
BF	6	Akira Ioane
RL	5	Tom Robinson
LL	4	Josh Goodhue	45'
TP	3	Nepo Laulala	54'
HK	2	Kurt Eklund	54'
LP	1	Alex Hodgman	54'
Substitutes:
HK	16	Soane Vikena	54'
PR	17	Karl Tu'inukuafe	54'
PR	18	Ofa Tu'ungafasi	54'
LK	19	Luke Romano	45'
LF	20	Dalton Papalii	40'	44'	47'
SH	21	Sam Nock	72'
CE	22	Bryce Heem	45'
FB	23	Zarn Sullivan	78'
Coach:
Leon MacDonald


FB	15	Will Jordan
RW	14	Sevu Reece
OC	13	Jack Goodhue
IC	12	David Havili	68'
LW	11	Leicester Fainga'anuku	68'
FH	10	Richie Mo'unga
SH	9	Bryn Hall	59'
N8	8	Cullen Grace
OF	7	Tom Christie	78'
BF	6	Pablo Matera	78'
RL	5	Sam Whitelock
LL	4	Scott Barrett (c)
TP	3	Oli Jager	52'
HK	2	Codie Taylor	59'
LP	1	George Bower	59'
Substitutes:
HK	16	Brodie McAlister	59'
PR	17	Tamaiti Williams	59'
PR	18	Fletcher Newell	52'
LK	19	Quinten Strange	78'
LF	20	Corey Kellow	78'
SH	21	Mitchell Drummond	59'
CE	22	Braydon Ennor	68'
WG	23	George Bridge	68'
Coach:
Scott Robertson

Man of the Match:
Sam Whitelock (Crusaders)^[8]

Assistant referees:
Nic Berry (Rugby Australia)
Stu Curran (New Zealand)
Television match official:
Shane McDermott (New Zealand)

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References

1 2 3 "Clinical Crusaders boss Blues 21-7 to secure Super Rugby Pacific championship". Stuff.co.nz. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
↑ "2022 Super Rugby - Sanzar". super.rugby. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
↑ "Chiefs take down Waratahs 39–15 in Super Rugby Pacific quarterfinal in Hamilton". Stuff.co.nz. 4 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
↑ "Blues bash Highlanders 35–6 to cruise into Super Rugby Pacific semifinals". Stuff.co.nz. 4 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
↑ "Crusaders beat Chiefs 20–7 in semifinal despite red card to Pablo Matera". Stuff.co.nz. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
↑ "Blues edge Brumbies 20–19 to set up Super Rugby Pacific final against Crusaders". Stuff.co.nz. 11 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
↑ "Super Rugby Pacific final: Crusaders beat Blues 21-7 to claim 11th title". BBC Sport. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
↑ "Crusaders player ratings: Ruthless Sam Whitelock destroys Blues' lineout". Stuff.co.nz. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.

Preceded by 2019 Super Rugby Final	Super Rugby Pacific Final 2022	Succeeded by 2023 Super Rugby Pacific Final

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[Stuff_report-1] 1 2 3 "Clinical Crusaders boss Blues 21-7 to secure Super Rugby Pacific championship". Stuff.co.nz. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.

[2] "2022 Super Rugby - Sanzar". super.rugby. Retrieved 18 June 2022.

[3] "Chiefs take down Waratahs 39–15 in Super Rugby Pacific quarterfinal in Hamilton". Stuff.co.nz. 4 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.

[4] "Blues bash Highlanders 35–6 to cruise into Super Rugby Pacific semifinals". Stuff.co.nz. 4 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.

[5] "Crusaders beat Chiefs 20–7 in semifinal despite red card to Pablo Matera". Stuff.co.nz. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.

[6] "Blues edge Brumbies 20–19 to set up Super Rugby Pacific final against Crusaders". Stuff.co.nz. 11 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.

[7] "Super Rugby Pacific final: Crusaders beat Blues 21-7 to claim 11th title". BBC Sport. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.

[8] "Crusaders player ratings: Ruthless Sam Whitelock destroys Blues' lineout". Stuff.co.nz. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.

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