Crusaders coach Scott Robertson has praised his team's resolve, after booking their spot in yet another Super Rugby final.
Despite missing several key players through injury, the Crusaders put their rival Blues to the sword, with an emphatic 52-15 victory at Christchurch.
With the likes of All Blacks Sam Whitelock, Ethan Blackadder, David Havili, Sevu Reece, George Bower, Joe Moody, Fletcher Newell and Cullen Grace on the sidelines, the fixture promised to be a nailbiter, but the wounded Crusaders showed their intent early on, racing to a 15-0 lead within minutes from the opening kickoff.
One half of rugby later, the hosts were up 32-3 heading into the break, with the Blues unable to offer any meaningful improvement in the second stanza.
While injuries have threatened to derail the Crusaders season at times, they allowed the next rank of players to become battle-hardened, come playoff time.
Robertson has praised the replacements and credits the team's DNA for overcoming the testing circumstances.
"Squads win championships," he said. "We haven't focused on who we haven't got, but on who we have got.
"It's a real mindset thing. I've really driven and made sure that the next person is ready, and taking that opportunity.
"Sometimes, those guys train for weeks without having an opportunity, but they've all had an opportunity. I think the only player we didn't select was Melani Nanai and he's only come back from injury.
"The guys that have come in... Christian [Lio-Willie] and Sione Havili are tough. You look at Dallas McLeod… we're proud."
Despite chasing his 12th Super Rugby title, the usually cool-and-collected Robertson admits to suffering from pre-match jitters in the lead-up to the match against the Blues, but instead of shying away from the many attacking threats the Blues possess, he made sure his team were on the same page.
"I was actually pretty nervous all week, I'm normally not," Robertson said. "I've coached a bit, but this was a little bit different... I had a lot of deep breaths.
"They had so much firepower in their group that could change [a game] and even when we got out to 28-3, I thought bang-bang, the game's going to change, but defensively, we were on, hungry, and every moment, it felt like we were just living.
"You don't want to suppress that [emotion], it's always a little bit like 'where's the worry coming from?', but just because of the Blues firepower and the stakes, and how proud we are of what we've done at home.
"You've actually got to contemplate what you're going to say, you don't want to not think that. You want to be humble in success and defeat.
"I wanted to make sure, whatever happened in this result, that I showed a face that was respectable, but now we move to next week, it's a new start. We're guaranteed a final from the efforts today and whoever we play, we'll have a great week of preparation and respect them."
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