Chiefs head coach Clayton McMillan marvelled at the magnificence of the Crusaders on Friday night, but that is only giving them added motivation.
Scott Robertson’s defending champions were absolutely outstanding as they demolished the Blues 52-15 in Christchurch.
The Crusaders endured a difficult start to the campaign, including losing to the Chiefs twice, but they have gradually got their act together.
Those two will now meet in the Super Rugby Pacific showpiece event and McMillan admits that Robertson’s men will be tough to stop.
Crusaders improvement
“They were phenomenal. They really lifted a gear and made an outstanding Blues team look pretty ordinary,” he said.
“Even the most feverish Chiefs supporter had to sit back and applaud that performance because it was pretty unreal – they’ve certainly enhanced their game over the last six to eight weeks.
“The Crusaders have been the benchmark but if somebody’s going to knock them off, I want it to be us.”
The Chiefs sealed their passage into the final with a 19-6 victory over the Brumbies, the second Australian side they have beaten in the knockout stages.
Like the clash against the Reds, it was a titanic tussle with the hosts edging their way past their brave opponents.
It certainly wasn’t as convincing as the Crusaders, but McMillan is not concerned by how close the matches have been.
“It’s irrelevant how big the scoreline is, if it goes down to the line next week then I think the last couple of weeks have been good preparation and will give us confidence,” he added.
“We enter every game wanting to entertain and score lots of tries but history tells us semi-finals and finals, they go down to the wire.”
It will be a fascinating duel between the Chiefs and Crusaders, with the latter seeing some key individuals depart after the match.
Richie Mo’unga will play his final game before heading off to Japan, while head coach Robertson, who built this dynasty, will become the All Blacks boss following the World Cup.
“Rugby is pretty brutal, it doesn’t favour fairy tale endings,” Mo’unga told Sky Sports.
“It was crucial that we did a job (against the Blues), to be cold-blooded by any means necessary and execute.
“It’s what we pride ourselves on as Crusaders. Finals footy, we enjoy it, and we want to walk towards all these challenges.”
Injuries
The Crusaders have had to deal with the added difficulty of seeing several important players be ruled out through injury.
Ethan Blackadder, Joe Moody and David Havili are among those currently on the sidelines, but Mo’unga has been pleased with how their replacements have shone.
“To see those boys step up is just really proud, we won’t use injuries as an excuse, we are quite demanding of what we want from them and that we expect high standards, regardless of if they’re first year or not,” he said.
“When we look back in a couple of years time, we will either say we did it or we didn’t. No one will remember how many injuries or how many All Blacks we had out, the history will be done and our name will either be etched on the trophy or not. It just can’t be an excuse, we have to keep moving.
“This club has just been my whole life. I’ve given so much to this club and what I’ve got in return has just been so much more. We just have to be really clinical and really deliberate with every action and everything we do during the week.”
READ MORE: Clinical Crusaders reach another final after thrashing hapless Blues
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