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Fearless Chiefs plot raid on Crusaders fortress in Super Rugby final / Photo: © AFP
Fearless Chiefs plot raid on Crusaders fortress in Super Rugby final
Waikato Chiefs will not "have any fear" of playing next week's Super Rugby final against Canterbury Crusaders in Christchurch, despite the home side's formidable record there.
The Chiefs advanced to a third successive grand final appearance with an accomplished 37-17 semi-final win over the ACT Brumbies on Saturday.
After losing the 2023 decider to the Crusaders and last year's to the Auckland Blues, coach Clayton McMillan believes his team are ready to take the next step and lift the silverware for the first time since 2013.
Standing in their way on Saturday will be the competition's greatest side, who have never been beaten at home in Super Rugby knockout matches.
The Crusaders are chasing a 13th full-season Super Rugby title and have won all 31 of their play-off matches in Christchurch dating back to 1996.
Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan said he and his team will be unfazed as they plot their raid on the Crusaders home fortress.
"We don't have any fear about going down to Christchurch and playing the Crusaders," McMillan told reporters after the semi-final victory.
"We're one team that's had our fair share of success down there but we still know it's not going to be easy.
"They've got a formidable record and they're a quality team."
Under McMillan, the Chiefs have won three of their last five matches in Christchurch, all in the regular season, including last month's 35-19 victory when they fought back from 16 points down.
Since then the Crusaders have won six straight matches, including Friday's tense 21-14 semi-final takedown of the defending champions Auckland Blues.
McMillan says his team showed they have the mindset to win a big match with their pragmatic performance against the Brumbies.
All Blacks fly-half Damian McKenzie kicked six penalty goals as the Chiefs turned to forward control and territory to see off the Australian visitors.
"We've never shied away from the fact that we've been in the last two finals and haven't quite got the job done," McMillan said.
"We're under no illusion as to what it takes.
"But one of our Achilles heels in the past has been that we've wanted something so bad that it actually just becomes a little bit detrimental sometimes. You try a little bit too hard."
The final will be the last match of McMillan's five-year tenure before taking up the head coach post at Irish club Munster.
Chiefs fullback Shaun Stevenson is in doubt for the decider after failing a head injury assessment during the Brumbies match.
V.Perez--SFF
