Crusaders maintain standards against Lions
At this rate it won’t be long before Crusaders fans can dust off their diaries and start making plans for home playoff fixtures.
Because their 36-10 bonus point win over the Lions in Christchurch last night marked their eighth scalp of the season, and they’re putting daylight between them and the chasing pack.
Admittedly the Hurricanes have a game in hand – against the Chiefs tonight – but as it stands they’re 12 points adrift in the New Zealand conference after 11 rounds.
As far as finals rematches go, the clash against the Lions never reached any lofty heights and was one you felt the Crusaders were always in control of.
But that’s not to say Lions, who lost captain and No 8 Warren Whiteley to injury on the eve of the match, didn’t cause the home side some anxiety, particularly with their scrum.
The Crusaders led 17-3 at halftime, before lifting a gear after the break, and extending their streak of consecutive home wins to 25, one short of the record streak they managed between 2004-2007.
Hours after All Blacks coach Steve Hansen hinted he could pick a few bolters down the track, Crusaders wing Sevu Reece came to the party and is demanding attention.
Already with four tries to his name this season, he used his raw speed and power to produce a superb try late in the first half.
But he’s not just as strong as an ox. The Fijian-born speedster was all finesse for his second, the result of a sweetly weighted grubber kick and regather, which put the Crusaders 36-10 up with 22 minutes left.
Reece also produced a peach of a pass to setup centre Braydon Ennor’s earlier five-pointer.
Ennor touched down inside the opening five minutes via a set piece special, a welcome early strike after the Crusaders’ slow starts in recent games against the Brumbies and Highlanders.
They would have doubled their 7-0 lead a few minutes later if fullback David Havili had not shelled an Ennor pass with an open line in front of him.
It was another Havili blunder, a fumble in his ingoal, which led to the Lions’ only points of the first half, an Elton Jantjies penalty goal.
Despite earning numerous scrum penalties, the Lions could not turn good field position into points. Even their mauls, albeit without Malcolm Marx (Springboks leave), gained little traction.
The fact the Crusaders’ 297 metres gained in the first half more than doubled the Lions’ said it all.
Their only try was courtesy of a Ruan Combrinck intercept in the 54th minute, after he picked off a Richie Mo’unga pass and scooted away. But the game was already in the bag, given Crusaders wing George Bridge marked his return from injury by crossing twice within three minutes to blow the Crusaders out to a 31-3 lead.
Minus midfielder Ryan Crotty being forced off the paddock late in the first half for a head injury assessment, there appeared to be no injury worries for coach Scott Robertson.
To think he has the luxury of injecting rested All Blacks Jack Goodhue, Matt Todd and Scott Barrett back into the mix against the Sharks next week in Christchurch.
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