Blackadder gives hope to Aust rugby fans

Australian teams can't seem to take a trick against New Zealand sides this season, but not all hope of having a local Super Rugby champion is lost.

That's if you believe Crusaders boss Todd Blackadder.

His side's 40-14 win over the Brumbies on Sunday took Australia's record to two wins, nine losses and one draw from 12 clashes with Kiwi teams in 2016.

The Brumbies managed to beat the Hurricanes in round one, with the Queensland Reds the only other victors against a trans-Tasman rival - beating the Highlanders by one point earlier this month.

If the current ladder is anything to go by, Australia will only have one representative in the finals, with New Zealand teams occupying the three wildcard spots in the Australasian group.

But, as Blackadder notes, it's only round nine of 17.

"We're only halfway through this campaign," he said.

"It was only a couple of years ago, New Zealand teams were really struggling to beat Australian teams and (that shows) in this competition just how quickly the wind can turn.

"At the moment, yeah there is a little bit of dominance statistically. That's a fact.

"But there's still a long way to go."

The Crusaders have three more matches against Australian sides - the Reds after next week's bye, followed by the NSW Waratahs and Melbourne Rebels - but all are at home.

Skipper Keiran Read said each presented a different challenge.

"They all play slightly different styles the Aussie teams, so you've just got to adapt to which team you're playing and bring your game for them," he said.