2008 Super 14 final

(Redirected from 2008 Super 14 Final)

The final of the 2008 Super 14 season, a provincial rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere, took place on 31 May 2008 at AMI Stadium in Christchurch, New Zealand. The match was hosted by the Canterbury Crusaders who defeated the New South Wales Waratahs by 20 points to 12.

2008 Super 14 Final
Home Team Crusaders
Away Team Waratahs
Result Crusaders 20 Waratahs 12
Date 31 May 2008
Stadium AMI Stadium, Christchurch

Road to the Final

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The Crusaders and Waratahs finished the round-robin first and second on the Super 14 table respectively. The Crusaders finished nine points clear of second place, and had secured a top of the table position prior to the last week of the round-robin. The Waratahs only secured second place, and a place in the finals in the last round of the competition. The Hurricanes lost to the Blues in their final-match of the round robin, and the Waratah's defeat of the Queensland Reds allowed them to leap the Hurricanes into second place. The Sharks bonus point defeat of the Chiefs in Durban secured them third place on the table.

The Crusaders then hosted the Hurricanes in Christchurch, and the Waratahs hosted the Sharks in Sydney. The Crusaders defeated the Hurricanes 33–22 with three tries each, and the Waratahs defeated the Sharks 28–13. The Crusaders eventually prevailed in a toughly fought final, 20–12.

2008 Super 14 table
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD B Pts Qualification
1   Crusaders 13 11 0 2 369 176 +193 8 52 Advance to playoffs
2   Waratahs 13 9 1 3 255 186 +69 5 43
3   Sharks 13 9 1 3 271 209 +62 4 42
4   Hurricanes 13 8 1 4 310 204 +106 7 41
5   Stormers 13 8 1 4 269 211 +58 7 41
6   Blues 13 8 0 5 354 267 +87 8 40
7   Chiefs 13 7 0 6 348 349 −1 6 34
8   Force 13 7 0 6 247 278 −31 4 32
9   Brumbies 13 6 0 7 277 317 −40 6 30
10   Bulls 13 6 0 7 324 347 −23 4 28
11   Highlanders 13 3 0 10 257 338 −81 7 19
12   Reds 13 3 1 9 258 323 −65 4 18
13   Cheetahs 13 1 0 12 255 428 −173 9 13
14   Lions 13 2 1 10 206 367 −161 2 12
Updated to match(es) played on 2008-05-17. Source: [citation needed]
 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
2008-05-24 - AMI Stadium, Christchurch
 
 
Crusaders 33
 
2008-05-31 - AMI Stadium, Christchurch
 
Hurricanes 22
 
Crusaders20
 
2008-05-24 - Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
 
Waratahs 12
 
Waratahs 28
 
 
Sharks 13
 

Match

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First half

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The Crusaders scored the first points of the game when Fly-half Dan Carter kicked a penalty in the fourth minute, giving the Crusaders a 3–0 lead.[1] The Waratahs scored their first points of the match when Kurtley Beale kicked the ball across field, and Waratah's winger Lachlan Turner caught the ball to score a try.[2] The attempted conversion by Beale was unsuccessful, leaving the Waratahs with a 5–3 lead.

The next score occurred in the 25th minute when Waratahs flanker Phil Waugh intercepted a pass from Dan Carter. Waugh passed to Turner who chipped the ball and then collected to score his second try. Beale's conversion was successful and the Waratahs extended their lead to 12–3.[2] Carter kicked a penalty in the 32nd minute to reduce the Waratah's lead to 12–6.[3] The final score before half time came in the 38th minute when Crusaders No. 8 Mose Tuiali'i scored in the right hand corner.[2] Carter's conversion was unsuccessful, and the half ended with the Waratahs leading by 12 points to 11.[3]

Second half

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In the 46th minute the Crusaders took the lead again by 14 points to 12 via a Dan Carter penalty.[1] The Crusaders looked to have scored their second try in the 56th minute when prop Wyatt Crockett landed on a loose ball in the Waratah's in-goal area, but play was taken back 60 metres after touch judge Cobus Wessels reported that Crusaders lock Brad Thorn had thrown a punch. The try was disallowed and the Crusaders penalised. Thorn was given a yellow card and sent to the sin bin for ten minutes.[2]

Despite having an extra man for the next ten minutes, the Waratahs were unable to score,[1] and were further hampered by the loss of Kurtley Beale to injury. In the 70th minute Carter kicked a drop-goal to take the Crusaders lead to 17–12, and four minutes later kicked a penalty to further extend the lead to 20–12. With only minutes remaining Crusaders winger Scott Hamilton dropped the ball only metres from the Waratahs try-line. The score remained at 20–12, and the Crusaders won their seventh Super rugby title.[2]

Match details

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2008-05-31
19:35
Crusaders20 – 12Waratahs
Tries: Tuiali'i
Pen: Carter (4)
Drop: Carter
(Report)Tries: Turner (2)
Con: Beale
AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Attendance: 26,000
Referee: Mark Lawrence  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Crusaders
 
 
 
 
 
 
Waratahs


CRUSADERS:
FB 15 Leon MacDonald
RW 14 Kade Poki
CT 13 Casey Laulala
SF 12 Tim Bateman
LW 11 Scott Hamilton
FF 10 Dan Carter
HB 9 Andrew Ellis
N8 8 Mose Tuiali'i
OF 7 Richie McCaw
BF 6 Kieran Read
RL 5 Ali Williams
LL 4 Brad Thorn
TP 3 Greg Somerville
HK 2 Ti’i Paulo
LP 1 Wyatt Crockett
Substitutes:
HK 16 Steve Fualau
LP 17 Ben Franks
RL 18 Reuben Thorne
N8 19 Nasi Manu
HB 20 Kahn Fotuali'i
FF 21 Stephen Brett
RW 22 Sean Maitland
Coach:
  Robbie Deans
 
WARATAHS:
FB 15 Sam Norton-Knight
RW 14 Lachlan Turner
CT 13 Rob Horne
SF 12 Tom Carter
LW 11 Lote Tuqiri
FF 10 Kurtley Beale
HB 9 Luke Burgess
N8 8 Wycliff Palu
OF 7 Phil Waugh
BF 6 Rocky Elsom
RL 5 Dean Mumm
LL 4 Dan Vickerman
TP 3 Al Baxter
HK 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau
LP 1 Benn Robinson
Substitutions:
HK 16 Adam Freier
LP 17 Matt Dunning
RL 18 Will Caldwell
N8 19 Beau Robinson
HB 20 Brett Sheehan
FF 21 Matthew Carraro
FB 22 Timana Tahu
Coach:
  Ewen McKenzie

Touch judges:
  Craig Joubert
  Cobus Wessels
Television match official:
  Shaun Veldsman

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c "Crusaders win Super 14". sarugby.com. 31 May 2008. Archived from the original on 2 June 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Crusaders send Robbie off in style". The New Zealand Herald. 31 May 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2008.
  3. ^ a b "Crusaders (20) vs Waratahs (12) 74 mins". sarugby.com. 31 May 2008. Archived from the original on 4 June 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2008.

References

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Preceded by Super 14 Final
2008
Succeeded by