Chiefs v Crusaders semi-final CANES v BLUES

tonight nz time 7.05pm

should be a crecker

https://vipleague.io/rugby/chiefs-vs-crusaders-streaming

Not sure about it being a cracker, this is one way traffic so far. Chiefs 21-0 after 20.

now 28-0

35-5 ... 30min

42-5 HT

Crusty aint happy

I do miss the wild, open high-scoring games of Super Rugby . . . but I suspect the Kiwis will find that they won't run up these big scores and all these tries against the URC sides.

All one way traffic still. Chiefs look a lot stronger.

Well we'll soon see what their best has to offer.

nnn

let me know if hilites blocked ... Sky does occasionally

Hurricanes doing to the Blues what the Chiefs did to the Crusaders.

57-21

There are still a good amount of crap games in the URC but it's becoming fiercer by the year.

Ia grew that the Kiwi sides would find some stiff competition and far less one sided games if they played the top 8 or 10 URC teams.

Some truly crap reffing ruined a few games this year but the over all standard, in my view anyway, is creeping up.

Sharks need to be way better than they are cos they are frigging aweful. The Welsh sides need to lift their game because they are a total letdown at the moment. And if Edinburgh can find some steam then the URC will be in much better shape. But I think those things are gonna happen.

Of course, we can't expect all the sides to suddenly be better but if we can just raise the level of perhaps another 3 or 4 teams....then the URC will really be right up there.

It's still relatively early days though and I'm sure that if you look at where we are now, it's exceeded a lot of expectations.

Here is the key factor...as per Chat

1. More than half of the URC’s revenue was reported to come from South Africa by late 2024.
2. URC total income for 2024 was reported at about £55 million (? R1.3 billion).
3. URC TV reported a 35% revenue increase in 2025–26 alongside strong subscriber growth.

35% growth is friggin crazy and a sign that this was a good idea.

That growth trajectory needs to continue upward. As long as it does we can probably expect the URC to get better and better.

Super Rugby is being outstripped - badly!

NB

NN

Personally I really preferred Super Rugby. When it was super 12 or 14.

I just found th intensity and speed so engaging.

I also still struggle to follow whom plays for who in the Uk… besides Leinster.

maybe commercially it made sense - but I preferred the old days.

remember waking up at 7 am on a Friday or Saturday to watch our teams get pumped every week. And watch some doos breakdance after they won the cup.

fun times.

That was the best part of Super Rugby . . . waking up on a Saturday morning and watching wall-to-wall rugby from early morning to late evening.

Absolutely….I’d go back to the Super 12 in a heartbeat.

Doesn't help being far away but I've never felt more disconnected from our 'provincial rugby' ... hell way back in the day all we had was the provincial variety.