Match Reports

Crusaders halfback Kahn Fotuali'i celebrated his first start of the season by scoring two first-half tries to help the Crusaders beat the Chiefs 26-19 at Rugby Park in Hamilton tonight.

Fotuali'i's two tries were as a result of good backing up and he proved a real threat to the Chiefs defence as he made the most of his opportunity.

Andy Ellis was unable to wear the number nine jersey tonight due to a head knock suffered last week against the Sharks and Fotuali'i's performance will give the coaches something to think about.

It was a very good all-round performance by the Crusaders tonight in difficult conditions. Both sides threw the ball around in an open first half, but heavy rain after the break made it a war of attrition and only six points were scored in the second half - a penalty to Dan Carter and one to his Chiefs opposite Stephen Donald.

Captain Richie McCaw said after the match: ''It's never easy up here. We tried to deny them space because they have such dangerous ball runners and we did that fairly well but it was a very physical match.''

The Crusaders adapted to the conditions perfectly. During the opening stanza they repeated probed for gaps in the Chiefs defence both close to the ruck and wide but in the second half they simply held on to the ball and kept things very simple.

A very good scrum again allowed them to do this - combined with extremely good defence around the fringes.

No8 Kieran Read had one of his best games of the season and his tackling and power with the ball, in combination with McCaw and George Whitelock, meant the Chiefs often lost possession in contact.

Two Donald penalties put the Chiefs 6-0 up after only three minutes. But Carter replied with one of his own and after nine minutes the Crusaders were ahead thanks to Fotuali'i's first try.

A Jared Payne run breached the defence and Read kept the ball alive for Fotuali'i to dive over near the posts for a try converted by Carter.

The Chiefs then suffered a blow when lively loosie Liam Messam limped off with a hip problem caused by an Owen Franks clear-out.

But Donald closed the gap to 10-9 when Wyatt Crockett was penalised for offside.

Carter kept the scoreboard ticking over for the Crusaders with another penalty before Fotuali'i scored his second try.

It was a lung bursting effort as both teams counterattacked but with the Chiefs deep in their own half the Crusaders forced the mistake and big centre Robbie Fruean and Payne again made the yards after Fotuali'i sold a perfect dummy.

Richard Kahui capitalised on several missed tackles to finish off a Chiefs move for a seven pointer to the home team to make it 20-16 to the Crusaders before a Carter penalty from the right pushed it out to 23-16.

The kick allowed him to overtake Andrew Mehrtens as the Crusaders highest ever points scorer and it put him second overall behind current Brumbies player Stirling Mortlock.

After the break Carter missed with a penalty attempt wide on the left and into a strong wind. However he made no mistake after 53 minutes and it was 26-16 to the Crusaders.

The Chiefs would need something special to overcome the 10-point deficit in the rain but with a strong wind behind them anything was possible.

The Crusaders received reinforcements in the form of Corey Flynn, Ben Franks, Colin Slade, Adam Whitelock, Sam Whitelock and Willi Heinz and all played their part in keeping the Chiefs in their own half.

A Donald penalty with seven minutes remaining was the only reward for the Chiefs, who had a chance late on with an attacking scrum but all was lost when prop Ben Afeaki was penalised for illegal binding.

Man of the moment Carter said afterwards: ''I'm really proud of the boys. To hear that final whistle go was really pleasing.''

The Crusaders will regroup before playing the Lions at AMI Stadium on Saturday, kick-off 5.30pm, before enjoying a deserved break in the form of a bye.

In the first half the Crusaders backs and forwards combined perfectly - a feature was the short passing and strong, straight running.

Wing Zac Guildford again impressed with his workrate and fullback Payne did nothing wrong all night. Fotulali'i made a big impression, as did second-five Ryan Crotty.

And replacement centre Adam Whitelock again added a lot of value when joining the fray. His ability to make breaks against tiring defences is a real boost for the Crusaders.

Crusaders - Tries: Kahn Fotuali'i 2. Conversions: Dan Carter 2. Penalties: Carter 4.
Chiefs - Try: Richard Kahui. Conversion: Stephen Donald. Penalties: Donald 4.

HT: Crusaders 23-16

Kickers:
Crusaders: Carter - 6 from 8 (also missed DG attempt)
Chiefs: Donald - 5 from 6.

Crusaders:
1. Wyatt Crockett
2. Ti'i Paulo (Corey Flynn 54 min)
3. Owen Franks (Ben Franks 59 min)
4. Brad Thorn
5. Isaac Ross (Sam Whitelock 74 min)
6. Richie McCaw (c)
7. George Whitelock
8. Kieran Read
9. Kahn Fotuali'i (Willi Heinz 75 min)
10. Dan Carter
11. Zac Guildford
12. Ryan Crotty
13. Robbie Fruean (Adam Whitelock 62 min)
14. Sean Maitland (Colin Slade 62 min)
15. Jared Payne

Reserve not used:
Thomas Waldrom