Thirteen minutes into last Saturday’s New Zealand Super Rugby Aotearoa match in Christchurch, the Crusaders trailed the Highlanders by 7-0 and had done little in the game at that point. Always the trailblazers, once again New Zealand are way ahead of the posse. In some respects, this is merely a continuation of much of what we have seen from Super Rugby for years in that the New Zealand derbies were often the best games. As well as being an eight-round, five team format, with no knockout ties, New Zealand’s Super Rugby Aotearoa tournament has no relegation. In the process, the Crusaders added this trophy to their 10 Super Rugby titles, including the last three in a row.

Source: The Irish Times August 11, 2020 00:00 UTC