‘Wouldn’t rather play any team’: Chiefs embracing Crusaders’ challenge

The Crusaders are potentially 80 minutes away from their seventh title in as many years.

It’s a record that is undoubtedly to the envy of the rest of the competition, and it potentially gives them an advantage ahead of the decider.

But the Chiefs aren’t shying away from the challenge.

Following a sensational year, the Hamilton-based side is embracing the opportunity to dethrone the reigning champions on the biggest stage in Super Rugby Pacific.

While the ladder leaders failed to keep their unbeaten streak alive throughout the entire season – losing to the Reds in New Plymouth – there’s no denying the championship pedigree of the Chiefs.

But with one game to go in the campaign, the facts are simple: the Crusaders know how to win finals, while the Chiefs are looking to win their first title since 2013.

But again, the Chiefs are embracing the challenge.

On the day of the final, departing centre Alex Nankivell said there’s no team the Chiefs would rather play than the Crusaders.

“They’ve been the benchmark, haven’t they, for a long time and the results show that with the amount of championships they’ve won,” Nankivell told Weekend Sport with Jason Pine.

“I think for us, we wouldn’t rather play any team in the final. We love playing the Crusaders, it’s a bit of a rivalry going on for the last few years playing them.

“It’s really exciting, it’s going to be an awesome challenge.”

The Chiefs set the tone in the opening round of the season with an emphatic 31-10 victory over the Crusaders in Christchurch.

Following a run of sensational wins, the Chiefs kept their unbeaten streak alive in late April when they faced the Crusaders again – beating them by 10 points in Hamilton.

But this is finals footy.

Whether or not it gives the Chiefs a “psychological edge” depends on who you ask, but Nankivell insisted that the hosts are full of belief heading into the decider.

“I think it probably more so gives us confidence because we know we can beat them, we know our game works,” he added.

“I think that just gives us confidence going into the game that we can play our game, trust the preparation that we’ve done and we know it works if we get it right.

“I’m not too sure about the psychological edge, you’d probably have to ask one of them if it does or not, but we’re confident that we know we can topple them if we’re on our game.”

This year’s Super Rugby Pacific final between the Chiefs and Crusaders gets underway at 7.05 pm NZST at Hamilton’s FMG Stadium Waikato on Saturday.