'Saders edge defiant Cheetahs
The Crusaders were able to mark their first match at the new Christchurch Stadium with a hard fought 28-21 victory over the Cheetahs in another cracking Super Rugby match on Saturday.
The Cheetahs gave the Crusaders a massive scare with a fightback in the second half in an effort to condemn the home side to their third consecutive defeat, and make it back-to-back wins over the Canterbury franchise.
The Crusaders looked a little stunned at the ferocity the Cheetahs showed on defence, not allowing the ”Saders backs to dictate terms to them throughout the match.
While the Crusaders dominated the possession stats, their attack looked very flat at times and struggled to penetrated the rock solid Cheetahs’ defence.
The Crusaders weren’t able to match the efficiency we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from them, and seemed to be lack any rhythm and the usually well oiled red machine is a little rusty.
However, they still have the killer instinct to lift their game at the end of the match and the Crusaders came away with the win after a big scare from the Cheetahs.
Flyhalves Tom Taylor and Johan Goosen traded penalties to open the scoring, as the two sides felt each other out in the early stages of the game.
After minutes the Crusaders were finally able to unlock the Cheetahs defence, as Ryan Crotty stepped inside to straighten the line, and great hands from Zac Guildford and Israel Dagg to put Sean Maitland into space on the right wing to fly into the corner for the try.
Maitland’s try is the first at the new Christchurch Stadium, which is appropriately scored by a Crusader, and the home team took an 11-3 lead into half-time.
After the break one of Christchurch’s favourite sons, Dan Carter, entered the fray for the first time this year, and made an immediate impact. From quick ball Carter sent out a superb skip pass out to Robbie Fruean in space to stroll through a giant hole in the defence to score the try.
The Cheetahs struck back straight away from a turnover created by Cameron Jacobs inside the Cheetahs’ 22m. The ball went out to Robert Ebersohn, who broke the line and passed inside to Goosen. The flyhalf sent the ball out to Willie le Roux, who exchanged passes back and forth with Andries Strauss twice before the inside centre drew the last defender and popped the ball back to Goosen to score one of the tries of the season in the corner. 18-8.
Controversial Crusaders wing Guildford could be in hot water again, as a white card was issued by referee Keith Brown for a dangerous tackle on Jacobs. That will be reviewed, and Goosen was happy to bang over a simple three points from the penalty spot to narrow the gap to 18-11.
After 56 minutes the game went to uncontested scrums after both the starting props for the Cheetahs had left the field with injuries. That was a massive boost for the Men from Bloemfontein, who had been struggling at scrum time against a powerful ‘Saders pack.
A well struck penalty by Taylor gave the Crusaders a little breathing room at 21-11.
The Cheetahs then produced another moment of magic, as first Rayno Benjamin found some space on the outside and slipped the pass to Robert Ebersohn to sneak past a defender and score the try. Just reward for Ebersohn, who had done so much work in the match creating space for him teammates. Goosen’s conversion brought the score up to 21-18.
A bad mistake by the Crusaders who went offside at the line-out, and gave Goosen a chance to level the score with his big boot, which he did. 21-21.
The Crusaders were awarded a scrum for reasons known only to Mr. Brown – Kieran Read broke off the back and passed to Andy Ellis, who was drive over the line by his forwards, but held up.
From the following scrum the Cheetahs were able to hold up the ‘Saders drive once again. From yet another 5m scrum the Cheetahs defended their hearts out, but the ball was spread out wide and Dagg was unmarked on the wing to score a vital try.
The Cheetahs turned the ball over deep in their own half and just when everyone started to wonder if they could replicate the heroics of last weekend, Goosen booted the ball into touch to secure the losing bonus point in a bizarre finish to the game.
Man of the match: For the Crusaders Robbie Fruean was dangerous every time he touched the ball, while Kieran Read was quality in the tight phases. Cheetahs’ stars Heinrich Brussow and Johan Goosen were immense throughout the match making a major impact, but the creativity of Robert Ebersohn stole the show. The outside centre tackled his heart out and made space for the men outside him with every touch of the ball.
Scorers:
For Crusaders:
Tries: Maitland, Fruean, Dagg
Cons: Taylor 3
Pens: Taylor 3
White card: Zac Guildford (Dangerous tackle – 48min)
For Cheetahs:
Tries: Goosen, R. Ebersohn
Cons: Goosen
Pens: Goosen 2
Teams:
Crusaders: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Robbie Fruean, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Zac Guildford, 10 Tom Taylor, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Kieran Read (captain), 7 Matt Todd, 6 Luke Whitelock, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Ben Franks.
Replacements: 16 Quentin MacDonald, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Ross Kennedy, 19 Brendon O’Connor, 20 Willi Heinz, 21 Dan Carter, 22 Tom Marshall.
Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Cameron Jacobs, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Willie le Roux, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Tewis de Bruyn, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Justin Downey, 6 Heinrich Brussow, 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 George Earle, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Trevor Nyakane.
Replacements: 16 Hercu Liebenberg, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Andries Ferreira, 19 Ashley Johnson, 20 Piet van Zyl, 21 Sias Ebersohn, 22 Ryno Benjamin.
Referee: Keith Brown (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Garratt Williamson (New Zealand), Matthew Muir (New Zealand)
TMO: Vinny Munro (New Zealand)
By Timmy Hancox
