Crusaders plunder nine tries as Tahs pile more misery on Reds
WELLINGTON:The unstoppable Canterbury Crusaders plundered nine tries in a 57-28 pummelling of the Waikato Chiefs Saturday while the NSW Waratahs piled more misery on the Queensland Reds in Super Rugby action.
On a triple-header day, Rieko Ioane bagged four five-pointers to give the Auckland Blues their first win of the season with a 28-20 victory over the Tokyobased Sunwolves. The Tahs beat the Reds 28-17, with three tries apiece.
The Crusaders' latest fullback find Will Jordan scored twice, as did All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor in his first outing of the year.
Wing Sevu Reece, unwanted by the Chiefs and dumped by Irish side Connacht, made the most of his Crusaders lifeline with a hand in several tries, including one of his own.
Canterbury's overwhelming win saw the reigning champions extend their winning streak to 19 matches while the 2012 and 2013 champion Chiefs remain winless after four rounds.
Despite the lopsided scoreline, the Crusaders went off the boil in the closing minutes -- a concern for Taylor.
"We slacked off last week against the Reds and so we played a good 65 minutes today which was awesome to see, but we've still got a lot to work on in that last 15," he said.
Reece was instrumental in two quick tries, outsmarting Damian McKenzie both times to set up Braydon Ennor for the first and scoring himself for the second.
Jordan, 21, then stepped up with his pace and precise support lines to score twice while hulking hooker Andrew Makalio also scored to take the Crusaders 33-7 ahead.
A Chiefs try to back-rower Taleni Seu and one in the second half to left wing Etene NanaiSeturo came from their superior scrum power -- one area where they had an advantage.
But they suffered from excessive turnovers and poor defence as prop Michael Alaalatoa, Taylor (twice) and Bryn Hall scored to have the Crusaders up 57-14 before late Chiefs tries by Jack Debreczeni and Mitchell Brown.
At the Sydney Cricket Ground, the Wallaby-laden Waratahs edged fierce rivals the Reds, who have now lost three from three. - AFP