Crusaders made to toil for win over Brumbies

CANTERBURY Crusaders captain Sam Whitelock had to think long and hard to find positives in their 17-13 win over ACT Brumbies in their Super Rugby match in Christchurch yesterday.

The Crusaders started strongly, their forwards rolling over a struggling Brumbies eight and a long pass by Israel Dagg putting new recruit Seta Tamanivalu in for a try after just four minutes.

But though they continued to dominate for most of the game, the points did not come and they ended up struggling to hold out the Australians.

If there was one bright spot for the Crusaders, the most successful side in the history of the competition, it was that they finished with a win when they have a history of being slow starters to the season

“It’s great. We’ve started the season on the right foot rather than playing catch up next week,” Whitelock said looking on the bright side before analysing why the score was as close as it was.

“We were pretty excited and probably pushed the pass a bit too much. But we looked really good when we held on to it and made good decisions.”

Brumbies leader Sam Carter said a focus on defence paid off for his side.

“It’s something we pride ourselves on and we’ve been training hard over the last three months,” he said.

“We hung in there for 80 minutes but just couldn’t get over the line. There’s only one way to go from here.”

The Crusaders had made a blistering start with All Blacks centre Tamanivalu, playing on the wing, scoring after just four minutes of his first official Super Rugby game for the seven-times champions since his transfer from the Chiefs.

At that stage, the Australian side appeared to be struggling with the pace of the game.

Crusaders fullback Israel Dagg suffered a scary moment early on when he fell heavily following a challenge in the air by James Dargaville.

The Brumbies winger was shown a yellow card by referee Glen Jackson and while the hosts had numerous opportunities, they were unable to make use of their man advantage.

The home side did not manage to breach a stubborn Brumbies defence again until the final 10 minutes of the first half when No 8 Douglas crossed after Dagg created an overlap out wide.

Arnold, however, reduced the deficit straight after halftime with one of their few raids into Crusaders territory, with Hawera, who slotted a first-half penalty, adding the conversion.

The Crusaders continued to dominate and with some fresh legs in the front row, began to attack the Brumbies scrum with openside flanker Samu picking up a loose ball and crashing over after the visitors’ pack disintegrated.

Despite their dominance, the home side were not able to pull away as the Brumbies defence, led by Wallabies flanker Scott Fardy at the breakdown, stymied their attacks.

Hawera added his second penalty to reduce the deficit to 17-13 and make the final 12 minutes nerve-wracking for the home fans.