Crusaders too strong for Canes
The Crusaders overcame a slow start to beat the Hurricanes 40-19 during their opening Super Rugby trial game in Ashburton yesterday.
In sunny conditions, the threetime defending champions gradually imposed their game on Jason Holland’s side in front of a crowd of about 3600.
New flanker/lock Ethan Roots stood out with his physicality and Ereatara Enari managed the game well at halfback.
The 38-year-old Alex Ainley also got a run in the second half and put himself about in tandem with fellow veteran Luke Romano.
The Crusaders lost Mitchell Drummond to a heavy head knock in the second period, but overall coach Scott Robertson was pleased with the hitout.
Both sides were without their All Blacks and used more than 30 players in the pre-season clash. They swapped their lineups around for the second half and went to the bench regularly.
Robertson was impressed by his young charges, who made the most of their game time with fullback Will Jordan, flanker Tom Christie and midfielder Dallas McLeod among those to catch the eye.
‘‘For a pre-season game, I’m really pleased,’’ Robertson said.
‘‘We’ve got eight All Blacks to come back into the fold, so it’s a chance for [the young players]. We talked about it. To get some combinations and make it really tough for us as coaches to select the team, all of them [impressed].’’
The Hurricanes made a flying start, racing out to a 12-0 lead inside the first 11 minutes.
Flanker Du’Plessis Kirifi crashed over for the opening try of the game after sustained pressure from the Hurricanes in the Crusaders’ 22.
The Hurricanes were over again shortly after when centre Vince Aso intercepted a pass from Crusaders first-five Brett Cameron and dashed away untouched to score.
However, the Crusaders bounced back with four unanswered tries in the first half before completely changing their team in the second 40 minutes. Flanker Tom Sanders finished off a fine counter attacking movement on the stroke of halftime with McLeod, Braydon Ennor, the impressive Jordan and Enari all playing a part in the lead-up.
Jordan also made a fine break to set up an earlier try for McLeod.
Drummond was forced off early in the second period after only playing a few minutes, while flanker Billy Harmon also went off in the first half with a minor knee knock.
Hurricanes wing Jonah Lowe also departed injured in the first period with a left shoulder issue, the same injury which sidelined him last year. Holland said Lowe had been a standout in pre-season and hoped it wasn’t severe.
The new-look Hurricanes struggled against a dominant Crusaders forward pack and Holland said it would be a major work-on.
‘‘We need to be more efficient around our carry and our cleanout and our breakdown.
‘‘That’s a big area around us getting momentum and being able to play. Crusaders slowed our ball down a lot today. That’s a little bit around our attacking shape and what we do there and just around a bit of mongrel at the breakdown.’’
Both sides have one more preseason hitout on Friday before the season proper. The Crusaders travel to Wanaka to face the Highlanders in their annual Farmlands Cup pre-season clash, while the Hurricanes meet the Blues in Takapuna.
The Hurricanes have a tough start to Super Rugby, beginning the season in South Africa with the Stormers first up in Cape Town on February 1. The Crusaders’ opening game is against the Rob Penney-coached Waratahs in Nelson on the same date.