Crusaders run riot against Blues

The Crusaders dismissed the hapless Blues in emphatic fashion, recording a record 59-12 win in their Super Rugby encounter in Christchurch on Friday.

The nine tries to two win was the Crusaders' biggest victory against the Blues – easily beating the 29-point margin (39-10) they recorded over the men from Auckland in 2006.

It may be well short of the Crusaders' all-time record – the 96–19 victory over the Waratahs in 2002 – but this was an emphatic statement by the Crusaders after last week's shock loss to the Rebels.

Whatever coach Todd Blackadder told his players at training this week, it worked a charm.,

The Blues' worst season in history hit another low, this defeat being bigger than their previous worst defeat – a 13 – 51 loss to the Reds in 1996.

It was a game in which the men from Christchurch put on display all that is good about the seven-time champions' game – brutal; forward play, great decision-making, awesome counter-attacking and sublime handling.

The Crusaders put the Blues under intense pressure in the set pieces, where a host of All Blacks went head-to-head – players like Samuel Whitelock, Owen Franks, Corey Flynn, Wyatt Crockett, Ali Williams and Tony Woodcock even finding time for the occasional scuffle.

They certainly weren't worried about being teammates on the Test stage in a few weeks' time.

The Blues never managed to get into the game and had to live off scraps of possession, which they also seemed to give up without much resistance.

In the end the Auckland outfit put up no more than token resistance and there is no doubt now that Pat Lam's coaching tenure of this once proud, but now very disheveled, outfit will come to an end. It may even be sooner than the end of the season, as the Blues look a badly disjointed unit.

The Crusaders made a bright start, and inside the first five minutes Matt Todd was over the line in a heap of bodies – after a great grubber saw the Blues scramble the ball into touch five metres from their own line. The call went to the TMO, who had a number of replays and then ruled that Todd had managed to touch a blade of grass somewhere in that heap of bodies. Dan Carter was on target with the conversion and it was 7-0.

And the men in Red-and-black were soon back on the front foot, as they surged towards the Blues' line in a move that saw Robbie Fruean make some good ground initially before the forwards took charge. And the try went to Sam Whitelock in the right corner. Carter's conversion attempt was wide of the mark, but after 10 minutes the Crusaders had a 12-0 lead.

And the Blues were dealt another cruel blow as they saw wing Benson Stanley knocked out cold when he got an attempted tackle on Fruean wrong in the move that led up to the try.

The early rout continued as Sam Whitelock went over in the right corner after another series of red-and-black raids and a sublime cross-field kick by Carter. This time the TMO saw Whitelock's foot in touch.

However, the momentum was clearly with the home team and the crowd were in full voice.

The TMO was back in the fame soon afterwards and this time Richie McCaw managed to get the ball to the ground – a try that followed a line-out steal by the Crusaders after Whitelock had just been denied a try. Carter's conversion made it 19-0 after 22 minutes.

And the bonus-point try came up in the 36th minute, when lock Luke Romano justified his call-up to the All Black training squad with a big drive over the line – showing he has the physical attributes to replace big bad Brad Thorn. Carter's conversion attempt drifted away from the uprights, but at 24-0 the match looked over as a contest.

The Crusaders had time for one more rush at the Blues' line, with some sublime handling putting hooker Corey Flynn over in the left corner right on the half-time break. Carter's conversion made it 31-0 at the break.

And the rout continued straight after the break – first Zac Guilford finding acres of space and when the scrambling defence stopped him, Andy Ellis strolled through a huge hole and over for the sixth try from a scrum five metres from the Blues' line. Carter slotted the conversion – 38-0, four minutes into the second half.

It got worse for the visitors when the Crusaders went through and over a ruck, formed after a kick ahead, and from quick turnover ball they went left where Corey Flynn went over for his second try of the match. Carter added the extras for a 45-0 lead after 50 minutes.

Credit to the Blues for continuing to play and they got some consolation with a try by Lachie Munro going into the final quarter – a rare foray into the Crusaders' 22 and some good hands in the tackle. The conversion, however, was wide – 5-45.

The Crusaders were soon back to their best as Zac Guilford scored the eighth try after the Crusaders won a turnover and started a counter inside their own 22. Carter's conversion made it 52-5 and just over 10 minutes left on the clock.

Tom Marshall came off the bench late in the match to also get on the scoreboard as the Blues continued to slip tackles. Tyler Bleyendaal also came off the bench and added the conversion – 59-5, with three minutes to go.

There was one last chance for the Blues to get a consolation score and Munro strolled over for his and his team's second try after the hooter for full-time had already sounded. Gareth Anscombe added the conversion as the Crusaders recorded their biggest win over the Blues – 59-12.

Man of the match: There may be many Crusaders who put up their hands, but Dan Carter looked back to his best – no longer troubled by the groin he not only took kicks at goal, but produced some great touch-finders, got his backline going, took the ball up well and even produced a sublime cross-field kick … the entire package as only Carter can do.

The scorers:

For the Crusaders:

Tries: Todd, S Whitelock, McCaw, Romano, Flynn 2, Ellis, Guilford, Marshall

Cons: Carter 6, Bleyendaal

For the Blues:

Tries: Munro 2

Con: Anscombe

Teams:

Crusaders: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Adam Whitelock, 13 Robbie Fruean, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Zac Guildford, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Richie McCaw (captain), 7 Matt Todd, 6 George Whitelock, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Wyatt Crockett.

Replacements: 16 Quentin MacDonald, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Tom Donnelly, 19 Brendon O'Connor, 20 Willi Heinz, 21 Tyler Bleyendaal, 22 Tom Marshall.

Blues: 15 Hadleigh Parkes, 14 David Raikuna, 13 Ma'a Nonu, 12 Michael Hobbs, 11 Benson Stanley, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Luke Braid (captain), 7 Daniel Braid, 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Liaki Moli, 3 Tevita Mailau, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Tony Woodcock.

Replacements: 16 James Parsons, 17 Angus Ta'avao, 18 Filo Paulo, 19 Cam Goodhue, 20 Alby Mathewson, 21 Lachie Munro, 22 Sherwin Stowers.

Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)

Assistant referees: Glen Jackson (New Zealand),  Jonathon White (New Zealand)

TMO: Vinny Munro (New Zealand)