MATCH REPORT: Victory in the Southern Derby
Five minutes into the South Island derby saw Rivez Reihana arrive from the bench after Kemara had a nasty twist to his knee and was assisted off the field by team Doctors.
Sevu Reece looked to add to his try record in the eighth minute but was pipped at the line when Fakatava met him there and touched it down first.
The first ten minutes of play saw both teams put massive pressure on the attack, but it was the Crusaders who put first points on the board when Will Jordan sprinted through to the line.
The Highlanders lost Holland for an HIA who inevitably didn’t return.
A Highlanders scrum resulted in Havili shutting down Lowe near the half way line, Tom Christie stole it from the ruck and the ball made its way across to Saifoloi and Newell before Hotham got it out to be tipped across the back line to Springer, Jordan met him on the inside and dotted it down again in the 13th minute!
Highlanders replied with a fast run right up the guts of the field forcing the Crusaders to defend hard.
A professional foul from Codie Taylor sends him away for ten, so Ioane Moananu came on as a swap for Saifoloi to set the scrums.
Newell, Christie and Bower kept the Highlanders at bay from a long line of rucks right at the chalk, resulting in the ball being held up over the line and Reihana kicked it back to half way.
After a string of scrums, another is reset five metres out from the Highlanders try line, Lio-Willie took the ball from the back and kicked wide to Reece, who had to bump the ball back into the field of play while flying through the air. There was some confusion as it got brought back for a penalty against Fakatava for being offside at the scrum.
Taylor arrived back just in time for a line-out, which Hannah claimed and turned it out to Christie, a pass to Lio-Willie as he was tackled but popped it out just in time to Taylor and he got it down over the line. An excellent welcome back to the field from Taylor.
Rivez goes 3 for 3 conversions and the Crusaders are up 21-0 in the 30th minute.
More rucks on the try line kept the Crusaders on defence as the Highlanders attempted to wear them down, but they kept holding the line. Ma’u did break through between the posts but he was held up.
From a line out, the Highlanders drove it strong, but as Fakatava took it out and headed for the try line, Saifoloi turned it over and Reihana belted the ball to the 22 again.
A line out ends in Highlanders hands, with strong tackles from the Crusaders holding the line, and as the siren for half time rings, they keep holding them back. Kneepkens kicked it wide but their winger fumbled as Reece met him there and kept the pressure on. The ball stayed in and was sent back to the middle but the Crusaders still wouldn’t let them through. Taylor turned the ball over winning a penalty to enter the half time break.
The second half opened with continuous back and forth between the sides, with fairly equal possession for ten minutes until Bower intercepted a run at the try line by Ma’u.
The Highlanders kept attacking, the defence from the Crusaders remained strong and held up the ball up for the third time.
Sykes-Martin was replaced by Tamaiti Williams for an HIA, but did not return to the field.
The score board remained untouched sixteen minutes into the second half when Reihana got three points from a penalty.
The Highlanders get a scrum right by the posts and Umaga-Jensen strived for the try line, sent it wide to Lowe who scored the first points for their team.
The Crusaders replied when Jordan collected a high kick, passed to Moananu on the left side, he passes to Kellow who reached it down in the corner.
Moments later a Crusaders lineout went through half a dozen players hands before ending up with Fihaki who touched the ball for the first time since arriving on the field and put it down between the posts.
Quick hands while the Highlanders were on attack meant they gained enough metres to reach the try line. They were held back until a quick ball out wide to Lasaqa for him to score on the wing.
Kellow was removed for an HIA after breaking Tavatavanawai’s run, which brought Taylor back on the field just in time for Williams to clear a ruck and Moananu to tear away from the five metre line, the ball was sent to Reece, then to Fihaki, who toed it ahead and suddenly we were at the other end of the field with seconds to go.
A penalty was conceded and Taylor takes a quick tap, scoring another try just moments after returning to the field – again!
A beautifully fought 43-10 win against the Highlanders, with the stats saying the Crusaders made 100 more tackles than their opponents during the game.
