Thefinal of the 2008 Super 14 season, a provincialrugby union competition in theSouthern Hemisphere, took place on 31 May 2008 atAMI Stadium inChristchurch,New Zealand. The match was hosted by the Canterbury Crusaders who defeated theNew South Wales Waratahs by 20 points to 12.

The Crusaders and Waratahs finished theround-robin first and second on the Super 14 table respectively. The Crusaders finished nine points clear of second place, and had secured a top of the table position prior to the last week of the round-robin. The Waratahs only secured second place, and a place in the finals in the last round of the competition. TheHurricanes lost to theBlues in their final-match of the round robin, and the Waratah's defeat of theQueensland Reds allowed them to leap the Hurricanes into second place. TheSharks bonus point defeat of theChiefs inDurban secured them third place on the table.

The Crusaders then hosted the Hurricanes in Christchurch, and the Waratahs hosted the Sharks inSydney. The Crusaders defeated the Hurricanes 33–22 with three tries each, and the Waratahs defeated the Sharks 28–13. The Crusaders eventually prevailed in a toughly fought final, 20–12.

2008 Super 14 table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	B	Pts	Qualification
1	Crusaders	13	11	0	2	369	176	+193	8	52	Advance to playoffs
2	Waratahs	13	9	1	3	255	186	+69	5	43
3	Sharks	13	9	1	3	271	209	+62	4	42
4	Hurricanes	13	8	1	4	310	204	+106	7	41
5	Stormers	13	8	1	4	269	211	+58	7	41
6	Blues	13	8	0	5	354	267	+87	8	40
7	Chiefs	13	7	0	6	348	349	−1	6	34
8	Force	13	7	0	6	247	278	−31	4	32
9	Brumbies	13	6	0	7	277	317	−40	6	30
10	Bulls	13	6	0	7	324	347	−23	4	28
11	Highlanders	13	3	0	10	257	338	−81	7	19
12	Reds	13	3	1	9	258	323	−65	4	18
13	Cheetahs	13	1	0	12	255	428	−173	9	13
14	Lions	13	2	1	10	206	367	−161	2	12

Updated to match(es) played on 2008-05-17. Source:^{[citation needed]}

The Crusaders scored the first points of the game whenFly-halfDan Carter kicked a penalty in the fourth minute, giving the Crusaders a 3–0 lead.^[1] The Waratahs scored their first points of the match whenKurtley Beale kicked the ball across field, and Waratah'swingerLachlan Turner caught the ball to score atry.^[2] The attempted conversion by Beale was unsuccessful, leaving the Waratahs with a 5–3 lead.

The next score occurred in the 25th minute when WaratahsflankerPhil Waugh intercepted a pass from Dan Carter. Waugh passed to Turner who chipped the ball and then collected to score his second try. Beale's conversion was successful and the Waratahs extended their lead to 12–3.^[2] Carter kicked a penalty in the 32nd minute to reduce the Waratah's lead to 12–6.^[3] The final score before half time came in the 38th minute when CrusadersNo. 8Mose Tuiali'i scored in the right hand corner.^[2] Carter's conversion was unsuccessful, and the half ended with the Waratahs leading by 12 points to 11.^[3]

In the 46th minute the Crusaders took the lead again by 14 points to 12 via a Dan Carter penalty.^[1] The Crusaders looked to have scored their second try in the 56th minute whenpropWyatt Crockett landed on a loose ball in the Waratah's in-goal area, but play was taken back 60 metres after touch judgeCobus Wessels reported that Crusaders lockBrad Thorn had thrown a punch. The try was disallowed and the Crusaders penalised. Thorn was given a yellow card and sent to the sin bin for ten minutes.^[2]

Despite having an extra man for the next ten minutes, the Waratahs were unable to score,^[1] and were further hampered by the loss of Kurtley Beale to injury. In the 70th minute Carter kicked a drop-goal to take the Crusaders lead to 17–12, and four minutes later kicked a penalty to further extend the lead to 20–12. With only minutes remaining Crusaders wingerScott Hamilton dropped the ball only metres from the Waratahs try-line. The score remained at 20–12, and the Crusaders won their seventh Super rugby title.^[2]

2008-05-31 19:35

Crusaders	20 – 12	Waratahs
Tries:Tuiali'i Pen:Carter (4) Drop:Carter	(Report)	Tries:Turner (2) Con:Beale

AMI Stadium,Christchurch Attendance: 26,000 Referee:Mark Lawrence

Crusaders

Waratahs

CRUSADERS: FB 15 Leon MacDonald RW 14 Kade Poki CT 13 Casey Laulala SF 12 Tim Bateman LW 11 Scott Hamilton FF 10 Dan Carter HB 9 Andrew Ellis N8 8 Mose Tuiali'i OF 7 Richie McCaw BF 6 Kieran Read RL 5 Ali Williams LL 4 Brad Thorn TP 3 Greg Somerville HK 2 Ti’i Paulo LP 1 Wyatt Crockett Substitutes: HK 16 Steve Fualau LP 17 Ben Franks RL 18 Reuben Thorne N8 19 Nasi Manu HB 20 Kahn Fotuali'i FF 21 Stephen Brett RW 22 Sean Maitland Coach: Robbie Deans

WARATAHS: FB 15 Sam Norton-Knight RW 14 Lachlan Turner CT 13 Rob Horne SF 12 Tom Carter LW 11 Lote Tuqiri FF 10 Kurtley Beale HB 9 Luke Burgess N8 8 Wycliff Palu OF 7 Phil Waugh BF 6 Rocky Elsom RL 5 Dean Mumm LL 4 Dan Vickerman TP 3 Al Baxter HK 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau LP 1 Benn Robinson Substitutions: HK 16 Adam Freier LP 17 Matt Dunning RL 18 Will Caldwell N8 19 Beau Robinson HB 20 Brett Sheehan FF 21 Matthew Carraro FB 22 Timana Tahu Coach: Ewen McKenzie

• "Waratahs to meet Crusaders in Super 14 final".The New Zealand Herald. 24 May 2008. Retrieved25 May 2008.
• "Crusaders seal home Super 14 final". Rugbyweek.com. 24 May 2008. Retrieved25 May 2008.

• 2008 Super 14 season
• Super Rugby finals
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