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Finlay Brewis of the Crusaders charges forward during the round 16 Super Rugby match between Crusaders and Hurricanes at One NZ Stadium, on May 29, 2026, in Christchurch, New Zealand. (Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)

D'Arcy Waldegrave: That was not high-quality sport entertainment

Author: D'Arcy Waldegrave ,
Publish Date: Sat, 30 May 2026, 9:31am

I get it. Within the loose structure of Super Rugby Pacific edicts, the allowance for teams to ‘pull a Hurricane’, as it will be known from this point on, is readily available.

If a team deem it to be prudent to rest players for a fixture, they can. Tonight the Chiefs are ‘pulling a Hurricane’ against the Blues.

Finishing at the top of the table, in a position where the result of the final round robin game cannot affect the team’s final series placement, has afforded both the Hurricanes and the Chiefs the opportunity to rest key players for their final games versus the Crusaders and the Blues. Which of course both teams did.

Legal, understandable, and accepted by most. The chance to rest tired carcasses and minds, which is insane, the season is short, this is not an NRL 27-week journey. It’s 16. With byes.

Yes, this is unusual, it’s not often, if ever, that the first and second teams find themselves in a space where their final games have no bearing on their final round robin placement.

I expect that forcing teams to play their top 23 would be nigh on impossible to police, so we are stuck with abominations like last night’s pie fight. The clown. The Crusaders-Hurricanes clash should have presented the sold-out stadium with a stunning display of top rugby from some of the best players the game has to offer. The fans at home on the couch should have been treated to a high-quality exchange, celebrating the dizzying heights of our national game. But they weren’t.

We were served up a lukewarm plate of leftovers, masquerading as a restaurant quality main. Sure, some key ingredients still made their way to the plate, like Sevu Reece having a field day at Te Kaha, sorry Tahi Aotearoa Whare Hākinakina, no, um One New Zealand Stadium.

The integrity of Super Rugby Pacific was compromised last night, and I’d suggest that tonight’s Battle of the Bombays will be no different.

The ‘Canes deserved to be spanked last night, and I hope the Blues dish up the same punishment to the Chiefs this evening.

The fans should feel ripped off, the coaches ashamed. That’s not high-quality sport entertainment. That was an abomination.