Crusaders to make long-awaited debut at Te Kaha home against Waratahs

April 23 - The Canterbury Crusaders kick off a new era on Friday at the NZ$683 million ($402 million) Te Kaha stadium, seeking a win over the New South Wales Waratahs to put their Super Rugby Pacific title defence back on track.

Following the 2011 earthquake that severely damaged Lancaster Park, the Crusaders waited 15 years for a permanent replacement for their old home ground while building a dynasty at their temporary refuge, Rugby League Park.

The roofed Te Kaha will not just be a new home for the Crusaders and a place for fans to keep dry on rainy match-days.

Its opening is a watershed for the broader city of Christchurch which struggled to rebuild after the 6.2-magnitude quake that killed 185 people and damaged thousands of buildings.

A sell-out crowd is confirmed for the Crusaders' debut at the 25,000-seat stadium which will host all five of the Anzac Day weekend's matches as part of the rebooted Super Round.

The sixth-placed Crusaders desperately need a win over the seventh-placed Waratahs after back-to-back defeats in Australia.

Leicester Fainga'anuku, who will play in the Crusaders' back row for a change rather than in the backs, said the team were ready to put on a good show at their new home.

"This place has become the heart of the city and it's something our people deserve," he said of Te Kaha.

The stadium's launch lifts some of the gloom that has engulfed the competition following confirmation Moana Pasifika will disband at the end of the season due to financial pressures.

The Auckland-based franchise, who meet the Otago Highlanders on Sunday, is the second Super Rugby team to fail in three years, with the debt-ridden Melbourne Rebels axed in 2024 by Rugby Australia.

MONEY PROBLEMS

Other teams are struggling for survival, including the second-placed Wellington Hurricanes, whose leadership issued a dire warning ahead of their match against the fourth-placed ACT Brumbies.

"You’ve got five, six, franchises in New Zealand and none of them are making a lot of money. There’s got to be change," Hurricanes co-owner Malcolm Gillies said on the Rugby Direct podcast.

"If it doesn’t, I believe it's going to die."

Rugby powerbrokers from Australia and New Zealand will meet in Christchurch over the weekend to plot a way forward for the soon-to-be 10-team competition, which has struggled to retain its best players against the lure of richer rugby markets in Europe and Japan.

The third-placed Auckland Blues have lost a number of their top players in recent years, and will bid farewell to another when captain and loose forward Dalton Papali'i heads to France at the end of the season.

The Blues face the fifth-placed Queensland Reds on Saturday, looking to knock up a fourth win in succession against Les Kiss's team in New Zealand.

The leading Waikato Chiefs will look to shore up top spot when they close out the Super Round against eighth-placed Fijian Drua on Sunday. REUTERS