After almost 29 full seasons of scintillating Super Rugby action, we are coming up to the game that will tie a bow on the 2025 season.
With that being said, I wanted to take a meaningful stroll down memory lane and look at some of the most thrilling Super Rugby Finals we have seen over the years. We will go all the way back to when the competition was known as the Super 12 up to the 2024 finals, and in doing so we will set the bar for what we will hope to see between the Chiefs and Crusaders come Saturday evening.
Number Five: 2016 Super Rugby | Hurricanes 20 – Lions 6
The 2016 final was more about what the game represented than the actual quality of the match itself. The road to the Hurricanes’ 2016 championship began a year earlier, when they lost a golden opportunity to win their first title.
That loss came against a Highlanders team they had beaten just a month before, putting 50 points on them in the process. However, when it came to the dreaded final at the Cake Tin, the boys from down south took the glory and broke the hearts of every Hurricanes fan.
In the lead-up to the 2016 final, the Hurricanes were in dominant form. They thrashed the Sharks 41–0 and then defeated their bitter rivals, the Chiefs, 25–9, earning themselves another home final. This time, the Canes made no mistakes. The Lions, led by the likes of Elton Jantjies, came to town hoping to recreate the Highlanders’ magic from the previous year.
But the battle scars from 2015 had turned the Hurricanes into an unrelenting machine. Led by the brilliance of Beauden Barrett and supported by 12 other international players, they claimed their first Super Rugby championship in a one-sided final.
The win gave the Hurricanes their first and only trophy to date and remains one of the most memorable days for any Hurricanes fan.
Number Four: 2017 Super Rugby | Crusaders 25 – Lions 17
Following a nine-year title drought, the Crusaders finally claimed their elusive eighth Super Rugby title in a final that had all the ingredients of a classic. It was the dawn of a new era for the club, with stars like Richie Mo’unga and Codie Taylor leading the way, marking a shift from the legendary days of Dan Carter and Richie McCaw.
This final pitted two 14–1 teams against each other, with the Lions looking to avenge their defeat in Wellington the year before. But unlike in 2004, it was the Crusaders who jumped out to a commanding 25–3 lead after 53 minutes, aided by a crucial red card shown to dynamic loose forward Kwagga Smith on the stroke of halftime.
Momentum began to shift midway through the second half, as the Lions clawed back into the contest with a trademark try from Malcolm Marx, followed by a Corne Fourie score that brought them within eight points with seven minutes to play.
But the Crusaders held firm, as they weren’t about to relive the heartbreak of 2014. With composure and control, they iced the final minutes and left Ellis Park with a famous victory, becoming the first team in Super Rugby history to travel over the Indian Ocean and win a final.
That win would kick-start the modern Crusaders dynasty, as they went on to claim the next four titles in a row, not including the Blues’ domestic title during the COVID-adjusted competition.
Number Three: 2007 Super 14 | Bulls 20 – Sharks 19
The 2007 final was guaranteed to produce the first-ever South African winner of the competition, with the Sharks being the only South African team to have reached a Super Rugby final up to that point.
The Bulls were making their first appearance in the final and were hoping to be the underdog story by defeating the top-of-the-table Sharks, who had the league’s top try-scorer, JP Pietersen, on the wing.
After 79 minutes of bruising, hard-hitting rugby, the Sharks had led wire to wire. But with the score at 19–13 and the ball in Bulls’ hands on the halfway line, there was still time for one last twist. The Bulls methodically marched downfield through their forward pack, and then the ball found its way into the hands of one of the all-time greats, Bryan Habana. He stepped around the Sharks’ tired forward pack and sprinted to score just to the right of the posts, setting up a routine conversion that clinched a dramatic win and secured the Bulls’ first Super Rugby title.
Number Two: 2014 Super Rugby | Waratahs 33 – Crusaders 32
The Crusaders have dominated the Super Rugby competition from the start to the present day, with the most finals appearances and championships in league history. However, that doesn’t mean they haven’t had any setbacks along the way, and perhaps the most painful came in the 2014 final against the Waratahs.
This final gave the Waratahs the opportunity to claim their very first Super Rugby title, and doing so against the tournament’s most iconic team would have been quite the feat. That being said, it’s hard to say how many people truly believed the Sydney side would have what it takes to bring down the most dominant team in rugby history.
The match was packed with star power. The Waratahs were led by names like Michael Hooper, Israel Folau, Kurtley Beale, and Adam Ashley-Cooper. On the other side, the Crusaders featured their usual stalwarts: Sam Whitelock, Owen Franks, Kieran Read, Nemani Nadolo, Israel Dagg, and how could we forget a certain duo by the names of McCaw and Carter.
With legends like these going head to head, it was always going to be a barnburner, and that’s exactly what unfolded. Haymaker after haymaker was thrown over 79 intense minutes, with the scoreboard reading Crusaders 32, Waratahs 30 heading into the final moments.
More often than not, in situations like this, the knockout blow came from the boot of Dan Carter. But this time, it was Bernard Foley’s moment. He stepped up and nailed a 45-meter penalty as time expired, securing the Waratahs’ first Super Rugby title and snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.
Number One: 2004 Super 12 | Brumbies 47 – Crusaders 38
The old adage in finals footy is that it’s usually a low-scoring affair, where taking the points on offer is essential if you want to be the team lifting the trophy at the end. In 2004, that idea couldn’t have been further from the truth. The Brumbies, the only non-Kiwi side to have won a Super Rugby title up to that point, triumphed in an 85-point thriller against the then four-time champions, the Crusaders.
The tempo was set early, with the Brumbies storming into the lead by scoring five tries in the first 19 minutes, completely stunning the Crusaders. After a brief pause in the chaos, the New Zealand side managed to hit back with two converted tries and went into halftime trailing 33–14.
The Crusaders came out strong in the second half, adding 24 points and making the game more than competitive. But on the back of a Mark Gerrard hat-trick and the steady guidance of one of Australia’s greats, Matt Giteau, the Brumbies added 14 points of their own. That proved more than enough to secure a nine-point victory in what remains one of the greatest matches in professional rugby history.