Crusaders beat Hurricanes 38-22 in Super Rugby

The Christchurch-based Crusaders led 24-0 at halftime and held on to beat the Wellingtonbased Hurricanes 38-22 in Super Rugby on Saturday, remaining unbeaten after two rounds.

The defending champions ran in four first-half tries against the under-strength Hurricanes, who rallied slightly to outscore the Crusaders four tries to two in the second half.

In another match Saturday, it wasn't nearly as close. The ACT Brumbies led the Hamilton, New Zealand-based Chiefs 33-10 at halftime and won 54-17 in an eight-try winning performance.

After a first-round loss to the Melbourne Rebels, the Brumbies ran in five first-half tries en route to their first victory over the Chiefs since 2014. Winger Chance Peni scored two tries for the Brumbies, as did center Tevita Kuridrani.

The Brumbies were playing without Wallaby flanker David Pocock, who sustained a concussion against the Rebels.

Hurricanes coach John Plumtree made the decision to rest several of his leading players, including All Blacks flyhalf Beauden Barrett, and the Crusaders, also missing several All Blacks, drew on their greater depth to outplay the Hurricanes in all phases.

The absence of the All Blacks, which has been a feature of the first two rounds of the tournament in New Zealand, meant a match which is usually one of the marquee contests of the season was played in a half-empty stadium.

The Crusaders took advantage of the Hurricanes' weakness at set pieces and disorganization in defense to score first-half tries through flyhalf Richie Mo'unga — who scored twice — flanker Jordan Taufua and lock Scott Barrett.

The fourth try, just before halftime, resulted from a massive scrum shove by the Crusaders which showed how powerless the Hurricanes were against the nine-time champions. The match lost much of its structure after halftime as both teams ran their benches.

"In the first half we wanted to hold the ball and we wanted to attack because last week we spent the whole match defending," Crusaders captain Matt Todd said.

Earlier, the New South Wales Waratahs struggled to a 31-30 win over Japan's Sunwolves in Tokyo.

The Sunwolves were able to repair many of the defensive lapses which saw them lose 45-10 first up to South Africa's Sharks. They stunned the Waratahs with an early try to Ryoto Nakamura and made the pace for most of the game, leading 20-17 at halftime.

The Waratahs moved ahead 2423 with a try to Jack Dempsey in the 48th minute and extended their advantage to 31-23 with a penalty try in the 63rd minute.

But the Sunwolves closed within one point with a 72ndminute try to winger Gerhard van den Heever, his second of the match. The Waratahs only just held on for their first win of the season.

Karmichael Hunt put pressure on what would have probably been a late match-winning drop goal for the home side. A desperate Hunt raced at Hayden Parker in the 79th minute to force the attempt wide as the Waratahs hung on for the win.

"I think the Sunwolves played a really, really strong game," Waratahs captain Michael Hooper said. "They capitalized on a lot of mistakes we produced and also put together some really good phases to keep us under pressure."