Match Report: Huge defensive effort the difference in Wellington

A dry but windy evening in the capital set the scene for the battle against the Hurricanes, who were hungry for a win after coming off a tough loss to the Blues last week.  

The Hurricanes set out to an early 7-0 lead as Peter Umaga-Jensen scored in his 50th Super Rugby match. Riley Hohepa set him up wide to ease over the line down the left-hand side.  

The Crusaders responded quickly with Tamaiti Williams soldiering down the right edge after the visitors gained some solid ground up the middle. A missed conversion made the score 7-5.  

Ioane Moananu then goes back-to-back for the visitors, set up perfectly by Scott Barrett who attacked strong through the defence and linked Moananu to go under the posts.  

Kemara added the conversion to take the lead at 7-12. 

The Hurricanes fought back with a penalty from Hohepa, narrowing the gap to 10-12. 

The visitors then face a series of unfortunate events – Taha Kemara and Fletcher Newell underwent HIA’s while captain David Havili limped off the field.  

However, James O’Connor showed he is all class with picking up an overthrown line out and scoring right under the posts.  

He converted his own try to extend the Crusaders lead to 9 points.  

Just before halftime, Chay Fihaki scored a brilliant try for the Crusaders – leaping over in the right corner to extend their lead to 10-24 going into halftime.  

In the second half, the Crusaders continued their dominance with another try from Moananu after spinning out from behind the maul to dot down for his second try of the match. Kemara's conversion made it 10-31. 

Peter Lakai got one back for the Hurricanes after some quick thinking after a penalty, he made a slick tap and go and squeezed his way to the line. Callum Harkin’s conversion brought the score to 17-31. 

The Crusaders faced more setbacks in the second half as Ethan Blackadder was sent to the bin for an offside penalty, and Antonio Shalfoon followed with two penalties, earning a yellow card.  

The Hurricanes kept their momentum going and made the most of a Crusaders side down to 13 men.  

Cam Roigard fired a wide pass out to Umaga-Jensen to send him in under the posts. Harkin converted to make it 24-31. 

Despite a late surge from the Hurricanes, the Crusaders held on to secure the win on the road.  

After being asked how his side hung on, Head Coach Rob Penney says he “didn’t have the answer.” 

“Derby games are brutal; you need the boys to get up for them and they did that tonight.  

“The Crusader way is the courage to dig deep and not waiting to let your team down and I was really proud watching on and seeing the boys do that tonight.” 

Final score: Crusaders 31 Hurricanes 24