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No fear for Crusaders, but will Chiefs spoil Razor’s farewell party?
The Crusaders have plenty of extra motivation to win Saturday night’s Super Rugby final against the Chiefs, with the defending champions determined to send coach Scott Robertson and veterans Sam Whitelock and Richie Mo’unga off as winners.
Bookies have the two sides dead even, but the Chiefs will have the help of a sold out Waikato Stadium.
So, will it be a dynasty extending victory for the visitors? Or will the hosts claim their first title in ten years?
The Crusaders concede the Chiefs deserve the favourites tag, having beaten them twice this season.
Assistant coach Dan Perrin believes it will be a fitting final in Hamilton.
“They’ve had a hell of a year. Probably the form team throughout the competition. We’re really looking forward to the challenge of going up there and if we can execute what we want to execute, it should be a good day at the office. We respect what they’ve done through the year, but we don’t fear it.”
The injury hit Crusaders will again be without a stack of All Blacks, but they’re in a confident mood following their crushing semi-final win over the Blues.
Sam Whitelock (L) and Scott Robertson. Photo: Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz
Sam Whitelock has recovered from an achilles injury to be named in their starting XV, though there’s a chance he won’t play in what would be his last match for the franchise.
The All Blacks lock, who has notched up 177 games for the Crusaders, is heading to France after this year’s World Cup.
Coach Scott Robertson concedes Whitelock’s injury could still force him out of the final.
“So, we’ll take it right to the warm up (before the final) for him. He’s trained extremely well, done everything all week and it’s looking positive.
“He’s great today, we’ll see how he finishes up after training. Everything is strong, everything is good. But, we’re mindful and prepared that he could not be there. We’ll give him every opportunity and it’s Sam’s call in the end.”
It will also be the last game as Crusaders for Robertson and All Blacks first-five Richie Mo’unga, with the former the next All Blacks coach and the latter moving to Japan at the end of the year.
All Blacks fullback Will Jordan said the defending champions are desperate to bookend their Crusaders careers with a fifth straight Super Rugby title.
Will Jordan. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
“It’s definitely a bit of motivation for us. Those three guys, Richie, Razor and Sam have been a huge part of this era of the Crusaders. I’ve been lucky enough to be here for the majority of it and the impact they’ve had on the team and the culture we’ve been able to create has been massive.”
The Chiefs are also saying goodbye to a pair of stalwarts with All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick and halfback Brad Weber playing their last games for the team.
Coach Clayton McMillan though is staying on and he said there’s many reasons why he’s confident of leading the team to their first title in a decade.
“Cohesion in the group and the coaching group. We have staff that have been together for a long period of time now, at least the last two or three years. We’ve had plenty of shared learning experiences. The maturity of the playing group. We just feel it’s our time.”
Rain is forecast for Hamilton on Saturday night but the match is sold out and McMillan said the wet weather won’t put a damper on their title aspirations.
He believes defence will be key to his side’s chances of success.
“It’s certainly going to play a big part. Especially if the conditions are cold and wet as we expect. I think finals traditionally are tight affairs and that’s what we’re anticipating on the weekend. It’s going to be tight, it’s going to go down to the wire and it may well be that the best defensive team wins.”
McMillan wants to make the most of home advantage and is urging the Kirikiriroa crowd to come out in full noise.
“When the cowbells are ringing and 25,000 people are vocal, getting in behind the team, it’s awesome. We all need them to be in their colours and loud and proud and making sure that the opposition understand that they are a long way away from home and that this is our back yard.”
Scott Robertson took over as Crusaders coach in 2017 and has won a Super Rugby title of some kind every year he’s been in charge.
Can he do it again tomorrow night? Or will the Chiefs and Clayton McMillan spoil his fairytale ending?
VIA RNZ
The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.
On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.
Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.
In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.
“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.
“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”
VNP / Phil Smith
Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.
That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.
“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.
Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.
Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.
The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.
Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.
Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.
“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”
Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.
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