Highlanders too hot for Crusaders
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The Highlanders fought back to claim a 25-20 victory over the Crusaders in their clash in Christchurch on Saturday.
The seven-time champions took a slender one-point lead into half-time, but two quick tries from wing Waisake Naholo just after the break saw the Highlanders claim victory over their South Island rivals.
The visitors drew first blood with a penalty from Lima Sopoaga, but the Crusaders hit back with a fantastic try when Colin Slade wriggled out of a tackle and floated a pass out to Nemani Nadolo who managed to get a fantastic offload away to Matt Todd who scored in the corner.
The Highlanders were struck a further blow when Sopoaga was sent to the sin bin for a shoulder charge on Slade, and they missed his services shortly afterwards as Aaron Smith lined up a kick at goal and pulled it wide.
The Crusaders were not able to score while Sopoaga was off the park, but got their second try just after he returned as Nadolo bashed it up after an attacking scrum and Jordan Taufua was on hand to crash over and take their lead to 14-3.Sopoaga slotted a second penalty and then got his side right back in the game just before half-time when he hit a gap in midfield and put Ben Smith over for a try which cut the deficit to just one point.
The visitors made a storming start to the second half as Waisake Naholo grabbed two quick tries to put them firmly in the driving seat with a 25-14 lead.
The big wing first claimed an intercept to race away and score from halfway, before capping off a period of pressure when he was put over in the corner to leave the Crusaders chasing the game.
With Dan Carter and Richie McCaw on the field off the bench, the home side needed to make something happen and managed to cut the Highlanders' lead to 25-17 through a Slade penalty on the hour mark.
The Crusaders threw everything at the visitors in the final stages, and brought themselves within range with another Slade penalty, but the Highlanders held out under pressure to claim a valuable win.
Man of the match: There were many candidates in an enterprising game both Crusaders flanks Matt Todd and Jordan Taufua scored tries and looked impressive, while Colin Slade and Nemani Nadolo also stood out, for the Highlanders Waisake Naholo underlined his ability as a finisher and Ben Smith looked threatening throughout, but our award goes to Lima Sopoaga who was the creative spark for the visitors.
The scorers:
For the Crusaders:
Tries: Todd, Taufua
Cons: Dagg, Slade
Pens: Slade 2
For the Highlanders:
Tries: B Smith, Naholo 2
Cons: Sopoaga 2
Pens: Sopoaga 2
Yellow card: Lima Sopoaga (Highlanders, 8 – Foul play, shoulder charge)
Teams:
Crusaders: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 David Havili, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Kieran Read (captain), 7 Matt Todd, 6 Jordan Taufua, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Jimmy Tupou, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Ben Funnell, 1 Joe Moody.
Replacements: 16 Codie Taylor, 17 Alex Hodgman, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Richie McCaw, 21 Mitchell Drummond, 22 Dan Carter, 23 Nafi Tuitavake.
Highlanders: 15 Ben Smith (co-captain), 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Shaun Treeby, 11 Patrick Osborne, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Nasi Manu (co-captain), 7 James Lentjes, 6 Elliot Dixon, 5 Joe Wheeler, 4 Tom Franklin, 3 Josh Hohneck, 2 Ash Dixon, 1 Brendon Edmonds.
Replacements: 16 Liam Coltman, 17 Daniel Lienert-Brown, 18 Pingi Tala'apitaga, 19 Mark Reddish, 20 Dan Pryor, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Marty Banks, 23 Jason Emery.
Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Kane McBride (New Zealand), Shane McDermott (New Zealand)
TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)
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