VIDEO: Crusaders blitz Lions
SUPER RUGBY REPORT: The Crusaders cemented their position as the tournament’s most dominant team with a comprehensive win over the Lions.
In a rematch of the last two championship finals, the Crusaders outscored their visitors from South Africa by five tries to one in a 36-10 victory.
It was a record 26th consecutive win at home for the Crusaders.
There was never any doubt about the outcome, as the Crusaders looked the more accomplished outfit from the start.
However, the result was put beyond doubt with a two-try blitz by George Bridge in the 48th and 50th minutes.
While the Crusaders made it look easy, coach Scott Robertson said there was still plenty to work on.
“It took us a while to get our rhythm in the scrums, and nine handling errors before half-time, but a great finish,” he said.
The Crusaders have now won eight and drawn one from 10 matches in their bid for a third successive title, while the Lions have slumped to a five from 10 record.
After a messy first half when dew made handling difficult, Bridge took control of the match with two tries in two minutes early in the second spell.
After a series of line-out drives were stifled, the Crusaders produced an old-fashioned peel off the back of a line-out, and Bridge, returning from a hamstring injury suffered in round six, came off his blindside wing to score.
The Crusaders attacked immediately from the restart and Braydon Ennor found a gap to send Bridge on another run to the line.
But it must be a disappointment to the All Blacks selectors that the 22-year-old Reece has opted to play for his native Fiji at international level.
He enabled the Crusaders to rid themselves of the slow starts that have plagued their game in recent weeks by being instrumental in their two first half tries.
For the first, he came off his wing to draw in two defenders at second receiver before popping a pass to Ennor who raced 30 metres untouched to the line.
The Crusaders second try was all power after a Ryan Crotty intercept took the Crusaders on to the attack and Reece finished the move when he crashed through three tacklers, including sending Lions back row forward Kwagga Smith flying backwards through the air.
After Bridge’s double to give the Crusaders a 31-3 lead, Ruan Combrinck scored an intercept try for the Lions before Reece produced another weapon from his armoury with a chip kick over the line and then outsprinting the defence.
Man of the match: If you were to award points for bravery on defence, the Lions would have had plenty of those. However, it is points on the board that matters. The Crusaders were littered with stars and they all performed – Richie Mo’unga, Kieran Read and Sam Whitelock, to name but a few. If we have to single out one player our vote goes to Crusaders wing Sevu Reece – who proved more than a handful for the Lions’ defence.
The scorers:
For the Crusaders:
Tries: Ennor, Reece 2, Bridge 2
Cons: Mo’unga 4
Pen: Mo’unga
For the Lions:
Try: Combrink
Con: Jantjies
Pen: Jantjies
SUPER RUGBY RECAP: Crusaders v Lions
Did you miss any of the action? Recap all the drama here!
Teams:
Crusaders: 15 David Havili, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Braydon Ennor, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 George Bridge, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Mitchell Drummond, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Billy Harmon, 6 Whetukamokamo Douglas, 5 Sam Whitelock (captain), 4 Quinten Strange, 3 Michael Alaalatoa, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody.
Replacements: 16 Ben Funnell, 17 Harry Allan, 18 Oliver Jager, 19 Mitchell Dunshea, 20 Jordan Taufua, 21 Ere Enari, 22 Mitchell Hunt, 23 Ngane Punivai.
Lions: 15 Ruan Combrinck, 14 Sylvian Mahuza, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Elton Jantjies, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Shaun Reynolds, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Albertus Smith (captain), 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Marnus Schoeman, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Stephan Lewies, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Sithembiso Sithole.
Replacements: 16 Jan-Henning Campher, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Johannes Jonker, 19 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 20 Hacjivah Dayimani, 21 Ross Cronje, 22 Franco Naude, 23 Tyrone Green.
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Mike Fraser (New Zealand), James Munro (New Zealand)
TMO: Aaron Paterson (New Zealand)
