Super Rugby Countdown Day 11: A look at Crusaders' 11th Super Rugby crown
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In June 2022, Crusaders secured an 11th Super Rugby title as they snapped Blues' 15-match winning streak with a dominant 21-7 victory in all-New Zealand final at a sold-out Eden Park in Auckland.
Richie Mo'unga scored two penalties and a drop goal and also converted a first-half try scored by Bryn Hall, while Crusaders wrapped up the game when Sevu Reece touched down a couple of minutes from time.
The Christchurch side became the first Super Rugby Pacific champions and added another trophy to their haul, having won the three previous editions of Super Rugby before the coronavirus pandemic.
Crusaders led 13-0 at half-time and extended that advantage to 16-0 shortly early in the second period when Mo'unga kicked his second penalty of a largely flawless display.
However, Blues rallied with their solitary try just before the hour mark as Finlay Christie went over.
That score gave the Auckland-based team hope they could complete a stunning turnaround in their home stadium and clinch a first full Super Rugby crown since 2003, when they beat Crusaders 21-17 in the final.
Blues applied pressure after that but Reece's try took the game beyond them at a rain-soaked Eden Park, with the winger latching onto a defensive mistake.
Crusaders lock Sam Whitelock said: "We've always talked about effort on both sides of the ball. It's not always about scoring points, sometimes it's about stopping them from scoring."
Beauden Barrett added: "Tonight wasn't our night, we really weren't good enough. It was really disappointing.
"We had a good season and we wanted to come here and do a job here tonight. It's a tough one to swallow."