Crusaders thrash Hurricanes, Reds overcome plucky Drua

FRIDAY WRAP: The Crusaders have kept their hopes of a home qualifying final alive with a 47-14 win over the Hurricanes, whilst the Reds delivered a strong second-half performance to defeat Fijian Drua by 45-24 in Brisbane.

It maintains the winning record at the new One NZ Stadium, unbeaten at the ground since its opening in April.

They took advantage of mass changes to the top-ranked Hurricanes, who made double-digit changes with their finals fate locked in.

The Crusaders were out to celebrate winger Sevu Reece in style in his 100th, and the flyer did what he does best, crossing for a double, including the opener.

It was Reece’s 72nd and 73rd tries in the red and black, extending his lead at the top of the all-time try-scoring table.

The rotated Hurricanes fought back through skipper Brad Shields to level the scores, before his opposition captain David Havili sparked a special try.

Havili broke the line from close to his 22 and sprinted away, keeping the ball alive for Reece to offload to scrumhalf Noah Hotham.

The centre was at it again shortly afterwards, combining with Chay Fihaki to set up Johnny McNicholl.

McNicholl turned provider for Christian Lio-Willie for their third try in 11 minutes and a 26-7 halftime lead.

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With both teams locked into the finals, the substitutions flowed as they emptied their benches early in the second half.

Debutant Cooper Roberts was the standout for the Crusaders, nearly creating a try with a classy offload.

Meanwhile, Jordi Vijoen delivered the spark for the Hurricanes, who replaced the returning Cam Roigard after halftime.

The hosts would eventually add to their lead after 62 minutes as Manumaua Leita finished off a break from Oli Mathis and Roberts.

Pouri Rakete-Stones got a consolation try for the Hurricanes in the final 15 minutes, but the result was well secured as the Crusaders climbed into the top three for the time being, sealing the win with a late Kyle Preston try and Reece’s second.

They will play either the Blues or the Brumbies in the finals, with the Crusaders needing the Chiefs to win against the Blues to ensure a home qualifying final.

The only concerns for the Crusaders are their ever-growing injury list, hovering over their title hopes like the smoke from the firework display during the second half.

Prop Fletcher Newell’s knee injury looks to be the most serious, coming off early in the first half after an awkward tackle.

It came after Ethan Blackadder was withdrawn before half-time for precautionary reasons, as flyhalf Rivez Reihana was replaced after eight minutes following a failed HIA.

In the following clash, the Reds came up victorious in a topsy-turvy 45-24 win over Fijian Drua in Brisbane.

The Reds led 21-5 in Friday night’s match at Suncorp Stadium before the Drua snatched back the lead early in the second half courtesy of a Manasa Mataele hat-trick.

But the Reds’ set-piece dominance at the scrum and line-out turned the match, with a four-try burst following Mataele’s magic lifting the Reds to victory.

The bonus-point win improved the Reds’ regular-season record to 8-6. But their hopes of landing fourth spot were already extinguished before Friday’s match after the Crusaders crushed the ladder-leading Hurricanes 47-14 earlier in the night.

It means the Reds (37 points) are likely to finish sixth, assuming the Brumbies (33 points) beat the last-placed Moana Pasifika in Canberra on Saturday.

The Reds’ win against Drua came at a major cost, with centre Hunter Paisami limping off in the 28th minute after hurting his heavily strapped left knee when tackled to the ground.

The 28-year-old cut a despondent figure on the bench in the second half while sporting a big knee brace, with scans to determine the extent of the damage.

Mataele scored the opening try in the 12th minute when he intercepted a pass from Reds playmaker Carter Gordon before sprinting 60 metres to the line.

Reds hooker Matt Faessler hit back for the home side in the 25th minute following a successful rolling maul.

A sharp pass from Josh Flook while he was falling to the ground set up Filipo Daugunu for a 30th-minute try.

And the score ballooned to 21-5 when Daugunu turned provider for Flook to score in the 34th minute.

The Drua hit back on the stroke of halftime, and it was the Mataele show early in the second half as the former Force flyer added two tries in the space of four magical minutes.

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Mataele collected his own dribble to score his second try of the night and the hat-trick was complete in the 48th minute when Virimi Vakatawa’s kick bounced upright, allowing Mataele to jump high to collect before racing to the line.

“It’s pretty special, but I would trade that for a win any time,” Mataele said after the match when asked about his hat-trick.

The Reds hit back hard via the set piece. Harry Wilson scored in the 55th minute from a dominant scrum, and yet another powerful rolling maul from a line-out led to Faessler’s second in the 59th minute.

The floodgates were officially open by that stage, with Seru Uru and Richie Asiata also getting in on the fun to secure victory and a bonus point.

“It’s always a great contest against the Drua. It’s always unpredictable,” Reds scrumhalf Tate McDermott told Stan.

“I’m really proud of that effort. We were a little bit scrappy in patches.

“But if you look at a lot of their tries, they did some pretty freaky stuff to get them, so I thought our defence for the whole part was pretty good.”

Star Reds fullback Jock Campbell revealed at halftime he was dealing with a little groin niggle, but backed himself to be fit for the first week of finals.

Friday, May 29

Crusaders 47-14 Hurricanes

Scorers

For the Crusaders:
Tries: Reece 2, Lio-Willie, Hotham, McNicholl, Leita, Preston
Cons: Kemara 5, Reece

For the Hurricanes:
Tries: Shields, Rakete-Stones
Cons: Harkin 2

Teams:

Crusaders: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Chay Fihaki, 13 Dallas McLeod, 12 David Havili (captain), 11 Sevu Reece, 10 Rivez Reihana, 9 Noah Hotham, 8 Christian Lio-Willie, 7 Ethan Blackadder, 6 Dom Gardiner, 5 Jamie Hannah, 4 Antonio Shalfoon, 3 Fletcher Newell, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 George Bower.
Replacements: 16 Manumaua Letiu, 17 Finlay Brewis, 18 Seb Calder, 19 Liam Jack, 20 Johnny Lee, 21 Kyle Preson, 22 Taha Kemara, 23 Cooper Roberts.

Hurricanes: 15 Josh Moorby, 14 Taniela Filimone, 13 Josh Timu, 12 Jone Rova, 11 Kini Naholo, 10 Callum Harkin, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Arese Poliko, 7 Cooper Flanders, 6 Brad Shields (captain), 5 Isaia Walker-Leawere, 4 Hugo Plummer, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Raymond Tuputupu, 1 Xavier Numia.
Replacements: 16 Jacob Devery, 17 Pouri Rakete-Stones, 18 Tevita Mafileo, 19 Tom Allen, 20 Matolu Petaia, 21 Jordi Viljoen, 22 Lucas Cashmore, 23 Bailyn Sullivan.

Referee: Nic Berry
Assistant referees: Reuben Keane, Louis Trisley
TMO: Brett Cronan

Reds 45-24 Fijian Drua

Scorers

For the Reds:
Tries: Faessler 2, Daugunu, Flook, Uru, Asiata, Wilson
Cons: Gordon 5

For Fijian Drua:
Tries: Mataele 3, Tuni
Cons: Armstrong-Ravula, Valetini

Teams:

Reds: 15 Treyvon Pritchard, 14 Lachie Anderson, 13 Josh Flook, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Tim Ryan, 10 Carter Gordon, 9 Tate McDermott, 8 Harry Wilson, 7 Fraser McReight (captain), 6 Seru Uru, 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 4 Josh Canham, 3 Zane Nonggorr, 2 Matt Faessler, 1 Aidan Ross.
Replacements: 16 Richie Asiata, 17 George Blake, 18 Massimo De Lutiis, 19 Vaiuta Latu, 20 Joe Brial, 21 Louis Werchon, 22 Ben Volavola, 23 Filipo Daugunu.

Fijian Drua: 15 Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula, 14 Manasa Mataele, 13 Tuidraki Samusamuvodre, 12 Isikeli Rabitu, 11 Taniela Rakuro, 10 Kemu Valetini, 9 Issak Fines Leleiwasa, 8 Elia Canakaivata, 7 Kitione Salawa, 6 Vilive Miramira, 5 Temo Mayanavanua (captain), 4 Isoa Nasilasila, 3 Samuela Tawake, 2 Zuriel Togiatama, 1 Meli Tuni.
Replacements: 16 Sairusi Ravudi, 17 Peni Ravai, 18 Mesake Doge, 19 Joseva Tamani, 20 Etonia Waqa, 21 Isoa Tuwai, 22 Simione Kuruvoli, 23 Virimi Vakatawa.

Referee: James Doleman
Assistant referees: Fraser Hannon, Dan Moore
TMO: Glen Newman