A unique Super Rugby season will draw to a close on Saturday night
and instead of the Crusaders featuring in a sixth-straight decider, the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman final will feature a fresh-looking fixture in the form of Blues v Highlanders – two teams who missed out on the Super Rugby Aotearoa finale in May.
In this COVID-19-enforced rejig of the 2021 rugby calendar, the trans-Tasman competition could well be a one-off event, before a Super 12 style tournament returns next year involving the 10 New Zealand and Australian teams, along with the additions of Moana Pasifika and Fijian Drua.
For the Blues, this represents their first final in a whopping 18 years, dating all the way back to their win over the Crusaders at Eden Park in the 2003 decider.
But for the Highlanders there is also plenty of hunger, to secure what would be just a second trophy in the franchise’s history, following their 2015 final victory over the Hurricanes in Wellington.
The Blues vs Highlanders match will start at 7.05pm Saturday.
[Source: Stuff.co.nz]
