Crusaders give Carter, McCaw a winning send-off against Brumbies
The Canterbury Crusaders bid farewell to All Blacks greats Richie McCaw and Dan Carter on Saturday with a fitting Super Rugby victory that ended the ACT Brumbies’ hopes of winning the Australian conference.
The Canterbury Crusaders bid farewell to All Blacks greats Richie McCaw and Dan Carter on Saturday with a fitting Super Rugby victory that ended the ACT Brumbies’ hopes of winning the Australian conference.
The seven-time champions will be missing from next week’s play-off finals for the first time since 2001, but they were too organised and strong for the Brumbies who went down 37-24 in Canberra.
Carter, the top points-scorer in international rugby, will transfer to French club Racing Metro after this year’s World Cup, while All Blacks captain McCaw has indicated he intends to retire from the game after the tournament.
It was a painful home defeat for the Brumbies, who missed the chance to press for the Australian conference title ahead of the NSW Waratahs’ final regular round match against the Queensland Reds in Sydney later Saturday.
To finish off with a performance like that against the old rivals – the Brumbies – brings a big smile and some great memories, and more than likely this will be the last one for me as well
A Waratahs win will condemn the Brumbies to a play-off qualifier next weekend against Western Stormers in Cape Town.