Wellington: All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has warned against overconfidence that defending champions the Crusaders will beat South Africa’s Lions in Saturday’s Super Rugby final.
Hansen said the Johannesburg-based Lions, who have been beaten finalists in the last two years, have “every chance” of upsetting the Crusaders, who won the title last year for the ninth time.
“I think [Crusaders fans] need to be a bit more aware that it’s only a two-horse race,” Hansen said. “You’ve only got to think back to [the World Cup quarter-final] in 2007 in Cardiff. People didn’t think that France could win and we got smacked quite badly.
“So you would expect the Crusaders to go out favourites and rightly so because they’ve played some wonderful football. But there’s no guarantee they’re going to win it. They’re going have to go out and earn it and that’s a pretty good Lions side, I think.”
