Crusaders stun Stormers in bruising battle
MAGNIFICENT defence won the day in an epic struggle between two of Super Rugby’s top teams in Cape Town last night with the Crusaders prevailing for a third straight time at Newlands, writes Craig Ray.
When Crusaders wing Zac Guildford slammed Stormers fullback Joe Pietersen into touch in the final move, it ended a period of seven minutes in which the visitors were pinned back under an onslaught from the Stormers.
The home team, desperately trying to fashion a victory after they had made an enormous amount of tackles, threw everything and everyone at the Crusaders’ line. But the visitors refused to buckle, just as the Stormers had refused to cave in earlier.
Incredibly, only two tries were scored in the match, a testament to the brilliant defence from both teams.
The match was played with intensity and though the result will have the Stormers pondering their long-term prospects in the tournament, few sides would have lived with the New Zealanders between the 30th and 65th minutes.
The Crusaders march on to Durban to take on the Sharks next week, but will be counting the cost of the win after several seriouslooking injuries. The Stormers will have to put their season back on track against the confident Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.
Crusaders flyhalf Tyler Blyendaal scored 14 points from four penalties and a conversion and Pietersen nine for the home team from three penalties.
For 25 minutes the Stormers could do little wrong as they ran into an 11-0 lead even though playing into a strong wind.
Flank Siya Kolisi wriggled over from the back of a rolling maul for the first try in the 15th minute and fullback Pietersen added two penalties as the Crusaders were forced to illegally stem the tide.
But the Crusaders sans stalwarts such as Dan Carter, Richie McCaw, Kieran Read and Israel Dagg, showed why they have won this title seven times. Their replacements fit in seamlessly and they roll with the punches. They didn’t panic and kept their shape on attack and defence. Having dealt with the best the Stormers threw at them, they refused to squander possession, unlike the home team, whose tactical kicking was poor in the second quarter.
Flank Matt Todd scored the visitors’ first-half try via a brilliant offload from lock Sam Whitelock after fullback Tom Marshall finally cut a hole in the Stormers’ defence.
Blyendaal slotted the conversion and added two penalties late in the half as the Crusaders added 13 unanswered points with the home team suffering the consequences of being starved of possession.
The onslaught continued after the break and the Stormers unbelievably had a single sequence inside their 22m area that saw the Crusaders carry the ball through 26 phases.
Their good work was undone when No 8 Duane Vermeulen was sent to the sin bin for a dubious tip tackle after a report from the assistant referee.
Blyendaal duly landed his third penalty to briefly stretch their lead.