Crusaders hold firm
HIGHLANDERS CRUSADERS
in Dunedin 20 26 THE Crusaders made amends for a woeful start to the Super Rugby season with a second round win over the Highlanders in Dunedin.
Beaten up at the ruck and lacking energy against the Rebels last week, the Crusaders withstood an early barrage from the Highlanders and then turned statistical advantage into points through the boot of Colin Slade.
After struggling with his handling early on, fullback Israel Dagg was a threat until he suffered a thigh injury and was replaced by Tom Tayler just before halftime.
Blessed with plenty of ball, Dagg had the better of his head-tohead with Ben Smith.
The Highlanders, hunting their first win over the Crusaders since 2012, were a step behind in their competition opener, and despite some gutsy defence they bled too many points at crucial moments in the game.
Rookie referee Ben O’Keefe replaced Chris Pollock after Pollock sprained his ankle.
The Highlanders started brightly, throwing plenty of offloads and hitting plenty of quick rucks but it was the Crusaders who scored first when Slade managed to float a longrange penalty over the crossbar.
It didn’t take long for the Highlanders to find a reply, Aaron Smith ducking around the corner of a ruck to wrong-foot Richie McCaw and catch the inside defence unawares.
After Slade had hammered a penalty hard into the left hand upright, and McCaw was judged to be held up over the line, big lock Scott Barrett crashed over for the Crusaders’ first try and a 10-7 lead.
Again the Highlanders looked to have hit back immediately when big South African prop Ross Geldenhuys slammed his way over under the posts but the move Arm-wrestle: Joe Wheeler of the Highlanders, centre, tries to bust through the the tackle of Colin Slade, right, of the Crusaders at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin, last night. was called back for a forward pass from Lima Sopoaga to Jason Emery, who was a late replacement in the midfield for Shaun Treeby.
Slade added a second penalty as the territory and possession started to tell on the Highlanders – but the Crusaders provided a hammer blow when Johnny McNicholl showed a bit of white line fever, and no shortage of strength, to score just after the halftime hooter. Slade’s conver- sion made the score 20-7, a 13-point deficit which the Highlanders didn’t really deserve.
Malakai Fekitoa made a bumping run early in the game, but with the Highlanders starved of the ball, his opportunities were limited from then on.
Forced to make so many tackles, the Highlanders went to the bench early, while the Crusaders also pulled McCaw and Owen Franks with half an hour to go. Slade banged a second penalty into the upright, before correcting his angles to push the Crusaders to a 16-point lead.
Fekitoa gave the Highlanders some hope in the final quarter when he cut back against the grain and scored handy to the posts to cut the deficit to nine points and Sopoaga’s third penalty had the Highlanders within six points with as many minutes left. But as the Highlanders tried to chase the game, Slade’s third penalty iced the match with three minutes to play.
The Highlanders managed to salvage a bonus point after the final hooter thanks to a Sopoaga penalty from wide out.
The result will be welcome for the Crusaders after a week of soulsearching, while the Highlanders shouldn’t beat themselves up too much. They fought back well in the second half, but will have to find another gear quickly when they take on the Reds at home on Friday.