Rampant Crusaders thrash Rebels
Nobody will sleep better than Crusaders head coach Rob Penney this weekend.
It was far from pretty or perfect, but the Crusaders blanked the fourth-placed Rebels 39-0 in Christchurch last night to stop the rot further setting in.
Only time will tell if it’s the start of something, but the reigning champions are back in the winner’s circle, and at least temporarily just one point outside the top-eight after their bonus point romp.
That is cause for a sigh of relief in Crusaders country, where a first defeat to an Australian side in Christchurch since 2015 (round one against Rebels) would have gone down like a bucket of cold sick.
They never looked like losing this one, not with captain Scott Barrett back from injury and instantly improving their troublesome lineout, and a scrum which put the Rebels through the meat-grinder.
No 8 Christian Lio-Willie turned in an excellent performance, scoring a brace of tries and racking up 69 metres on 11 bruising carries, while fullback Johnny McNicholl was sound at fullback and notched a game-high 96 metres.
But the story of the game was the demolition job the Crusaders did on the Rebels scrum, led by All Blacks tighthead prop Fletcher Newell’s immense performance.
So fed up with watching his side get driven into the dirt, Rebels coach Kevin Foote yanked his entire front-row half an hour into the fixture with his team backed up on their own line.
The bewildered looks on the dials of Matt Gibbon, Alex Mafi and Sam Talakai as they trudged off the park said it all, and they did not dare look their replacements in the eye.
Yet the Crusaders couldn’t turn their utter dominance into points, as many of the same old problems that have blighted their season held them back.
They racked up 208 metres to the Rebels’ 66 in the first half alone, had 56% of the ball and 75% territory, yet just 10 points to show for it.
That was courtesy of Lio-Willie finishing off an interchange with wing Sevu Reece out wide, and flanker Cullen Grace marking his 50th match for the Crusaders by diving on an excellent Rivez Reihana cross-field kick.
However, on a night you could see your breath in the frigid Christchurch air, the hosts’ lack of execution inside the Rebels’
The big picture
Five crucial points for the Crusaders, but they will know they should have put a stack more on the Rebels in just their third home game this season.
Their attack remains particularly clunky and overly lateral, with too many balls going to ground through either poor decision making or a worrying lack of execution.
As for the Rebels, who didn’t get inside the Crusaders’ 22 until the 37th minute, and have been outscored 188-60 in their last three games against the red and blacks, it’s fair to say they aren’t even close to legitimate contenders.
What’s next
It’s afternoon footy in Christchurch next Saturday afternoon, when the Crusaders host the Reds, while the Rebels are back home in Melbourne to face the Blues on Friday night.