Casual Crusaders survive Blues' late surge

The win made sure the Crusaders return to the number one spot on the overall log and record a seventh straight win over the struggling Blues side.

Meanwhile, the Blues remain at the bottom of the New Zealand conference.

Heavy rain before the game, and the odd shower during the second half, made precision tough for both sides although the confidence of the Crusaders side allowed them out to a 22-5 lead before the Blues battled their way back through the combined of centre Sonny Bill Williams and wing Rieko Ioane.

The vaunted Crusaders' defence was given a workout by the competition lightweights but there was no doubting the coherence of their pack in controlling the ball, and the game through the vital stages. Captain Matt Todd had his impact at the breakdown and it told.

But there was more of the traditional rivalry between the two sides that might have been expected given their respective records this year.

Turning back a Stephen Perofeta downfield kick, fullback David Havili ran the ball back at the Blues. He linked with flyhalf Richie Mo'unga and centre Jack Goodhue for wing George Bridge's touchdown in the third minute.

Three minutes later the Blues replied after flank Jerome Kaino charged down a kick from Mo'unga just out from the Crusaders' 22m area. After great interchanging passes between wing Melani Nanai, Perofeta and Ioane, fullback Matt Duffie crossed the try-line for the five-pointer.

Scrum power was the direct contributor to the Crusaders' second try, having come after three efforts to secure the ball, and at each effort, the visitors had the superior combination which finally resulted in a charge at the line with lock Quinten Strange getting the ball over the chalk.

Both sides suffered handling issues, and injuries, in the tricky conditions. The Blues lost try scorer Duffie to concussion suffered in an aerial collision with Crusaders wing Manasa Mataele while Crusaders centre Ryan Crotty suffered an arm injury. The Crusaders were saved from losing prop Owen Franks to the sin bin for foul play against Blues hooker James Parsons in a tackle, hitting with an arm to his head which resulted in Parsons leaving the field for an HIA assessment.

But while he was off the field, the Blues saw Williams run a superb angle to take a reverse pass from Perofeta to break the Crusaders' defence and then link with wing R Ioane who scored. In reviewing the Franks incident referee Glen Jackson ruled it was too late to take any action.

Franks then played a key role in a lineout maul just after the halftime hooter which rumbled towards the Blues line and when stopped it was halfback Bryn Hall who ran the blindside to get through for the try.

Strange wasn't so fortunate when his act of picking up Dalton Papalii and dumping resulted in a yellow card six minutes into the second half, and the Blues were quick to take their chance with several forward thrusts before the ball was released for Ioane to score his second try. An early charge by Mataele resulted in Perofeta having a second conversion attempt which he goaled.

A 63rd-minute turnover conceded by the Crusaders saw the ball moved to the left flank where Rieko Ioane tidied the ball before setting off down the sideline to find replacement fullback Michael Collins in support and he was able to outpace the defence and finally ground the ball in the cover tackle.

Man of the match:  For the Crusaders flank Matt Todd and lock Scott Barrett stood out while the Blues' standout performance was Rieko Ioane. However, our nod goes to Crusaders flyhalf Richie Mo'unga, who dictated the rhythm of the match perfectly in wet weather conditions.

The scorers:

For Blues:

Tries: Duffie, R Ioane 2, Collins

Cons: Perofeta 2

For Crusaders:

Tries: Bridge, Strange, Todd, Hall

Cons: Mo'unga 3

Pen: Mo'unga

Yellow card: Quinten Strange (Crusaders, 46 – Dangerous tackle)

Teams:

Blues: 15 Matt Duffie, 14 Melani Nanai, 13 Orbyn Leger, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Stephen Perofeta, 9 Augustine Pulu (captain), 8 Akira Ioane, 7 Dalton Papalii, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Matiaha Martin, 4 Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, 3 Ofa Tuungafasi, 2 James Parsons, 1 Pauliasi Manu.

Replacements: 16 Matt Moulds, 17 Ross Wright, 18 Sione Mafileo, 19 Ben Nee-Nee, 20 Murphy Taramai, 21 Jonathan Ruru, 22 Dan Kirkpatrick, 23 Michael Collins.

Crusaders: 15 David Havili, 14 Seta Tamanivalu, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 George Bridge, 10 Richie Mo'unga, 9 Bryn Hall, 8 Jordan Taufua, 7 Matt Todd (captain), 6 Heiden Bedwell-Curtis, 5 Quinten Strange, 4 Scott Barrett, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Tim Perry.

Replacements: 16 Andrew Makalio, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Michael Alaalatoa, 19 Mitchell Dunshea, 20 Pete Samu, 21 Mitchell Drummond, 22 Mitchell Hunt, 22 Mitchell Hunt.

Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)

Assistant referees: Cam Stone (New Zealand), Angus Mabey (New Zealand)

TMO: Shane McDermott (New Zealand)

Source: @AllBlacks