Crusaders back on track as Lions take a beating

THE Canterbury Crusaders put their season back on track with a rampant second half to secure a 34-6 bonus point win over the Golden Lions in Christchurch, New Zealand, yesterday.

Their All Blacks-stacked scrum dominated the Lions, and after stuttering through the first half with one try, they produced a more fluid attack in the second spell to add three more.

The four tries equalled the total number they had scored in their first three games, when they suffered two losses in yet another slow start to the season.

But against the Lions they were taking no chances after watching the way the South Africans overcame a halftime deficit to beat the Auckland Blues 13-10 last week.

The Crusaders stacked their side with internationals as Kieran Read, Sam Whitelock and Dan Carter returned along with Fijian winger Nemani Nadolo, who was the competition’s joint top try scorer last year.

Although there was an element of rustiness about their play, the forwards set the standard which lifted the accuracy of the backs as the game progressed.

Lions skipper Warren Whiteley said when the pressure went on they could not handle the Canterbury pack.

“They came at us in the scrums and that was the start of a couple of disciplinary issues. The pressure they put on us was immense,” he said.

Read had an immediate impact, driving the powerful Canterbury scrum up to the Lions line before detaching from the back and sending scrumhalf Andy Ellis over for an early try.

Carter, who played a full 80 minutes after recovering from another leg injury, landed the conversion and two penalties as the Crusaders took a 13-3 lead into half time.

Elton Jantjies had notched the Lions’ first points with a penalty just before the break and added a second soon after play resumed to narrow the gap to 13-6.

It served as a warning for the Crusaders to lift their game and the momentum shifted markedly after Lions prop Julian Redelinghuys was yellow-carded 10 minutes into the half. —