Crusaders too good, again
Any hope of the Highlanders crashing the Crusaders’ 25-years anniversary were quickly extinguished in Christchurch last night.
The Crusaders failed to turn a 26-8 halftime lead into a romp, but a 33-13 bonus point win is not to be smirked at, a result which ensured they head into a well-earned bye week with a 3-1 record.
Dispatching their neighbours for a seventh time in eight attempts, and 26th in 38 matches since 1996, made sure their anniversary wasn’t dampened.
First-half tries to Codie Taylor, Tom Christie, Braydon Ennor and George Bridge set the tone.
Indeed, their now 33-match unbeaten run on home soil is going to take something special to bury.
The Highlanders didn’t do themselves any favours, falling off a staggering 19 tackles in the first
40 minutes alone.
If one stood out, it was lock Josh Dickson badly missing centre Ennor, who cruised in from 22 metres to put the hosts 19-8 up after 27 minutes.
While the Crusaders perhaps slightly improved their execution from the previous two matches, they were still guilty of shelling passes and failing to turn their dominance into more points.
It was the Highlanders who scored the first points of the second half, when wing Jona Nareki touched down out wide after they setup camp in the Crusaders’ 22 for what felt like an eternity.
But the Crusaders hit back with a try to loose forward Sione Havili and were never seriously threatened by the visitors, who you felt needed to score a try in the opening few minutes after Josh Ioane skipped into a gaping hole.
However, halfback Aaron Smith lost the ball extending over the try line and captain James Lentjes instructed Ioane to kick a penalty in the fifth minute.
It didn’t take long for the Crusaders to cook up a try and take the lead through Taylor, who galloped on to a short ball from Bridge and touched down after quarter of an hour.
Five minutes later, second-five eighth Jack Goodhue sucked a couple of would-be tacklers in and put rookie Christie in out wide for his first Super Rugby try.
Collins and Ennor traded tries, before Bridge shrugged off a couple of defenders and put his side 26-8 up on the cusp of the split.