2023 Super Rugby Pacific final
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| 2023 Super Rugby Pacific Grand Final | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season | ||||||
| |||||||
| Date | 24 June 2023 | ||||||
| Venue | Waikato Stadium, Hamilton | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Sam Whitelock (Crusaders)[1] | ||||||
| Referee | Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand) | ||||||
| Attendance | 25,000[2][3] | ||||||
The 2023 Super Rugby Pacific final was a rugby union match contested between the Chiefs and the Crusaders at Waikato Stadium on 24 June 2023. It was the 28th Super Rugby final, staged to determine the premiers of the 2023 season. The match, attended by 25,000 spectators, was won by the Crusaders by a margin of five points, marking the franchise's twelfth Super Rugby title. Sam Whitelock was named "Man of the Match" in his 181st and final match for the Crusaders.
The Chiefs and the Crusaders finished first and second, respectively.[4][5] It was the teams' first encounter in a Super Rugby final.[6]
Both finalists had won a Super Rugby title, with the Crusaders being the two-time, back-to-back defending champions and holding the most title victories in the Super Rugby (11), with the Chiefs' last Super Rugby title being in 2013. The head-to-head results overall in the Super Rugby before their encounter was 27–19, with the Crusaders holding an eight victory lead. Six of their last ten matches went the way of the Crusaders, and, in 2023, the Chiefs won both fixtures against the Crusaders. The odds for the final were equal, with both teams not being considered favourite.[7]
The match was a tactical struggle between the Chiefs' backline and the Crusaders' set-piece efficiency. Despite the Chiefs scoring two clinical tries through Shaun Stevenson and Emoni Narawa, the Crusaders remained within reach through the goal-kicking of Richie Mo'unga. The turning point occurred in the final ten minutes when, with Sam Cane in the sin bin, the Crusaders opted for a lineout drive that resulted in Codie Taylor's second try of the night, sealing the 25–20 victory.[8]
Road to the final
| Pos. | Team | Season | Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | |||
| 1 |  Chiefs |
14 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 59 |
| 2 | Crusaders |
14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 48 |
| 3 | Blues |
14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 46 |
| 4 |  ACT Brumbies |
14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 46 |
| 5 | Hurricanes |
14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 41 |
| 6 | Waratahs |
14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 31 |
| 7 |  Fijian Drua |
14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 26 |
| 8 | Reds |
14 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 24 |
Bracket
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | |||||||||
| 10 June – Hamilton | ||||||||||
| Chiefs | 29 | |||||||||
| 17 June – Hamilton | ||||||||||
| Reds | 20 | |||||||||
| Chiefs | 19 | |||||||||
| ACT Brumbies | 9 | |||||||||
| 16 June – Christchurch | ||||||||||
| Blues | 15 | |||||||||
| 10 June – Christchurch | ||||||||||
| Crusaders | 52 | |||||||||
| Crusaders | 49 | |||||||||
| Drua | 8 | |||||||||
