Hall, Hunt help Crusaders edge Reds with 22-20 win

Reds 20-22 Crusaders, Suncorp Stadium
Scorecard

Crusaders came up with a spirited second half performance as they edged out Reds with a 22-20 triumph in their Super Rugby encounter at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.

The visitors were trailing by 20-7 at half time but added 15 unanswered points in the second half to move to the second position in New Zealand conference. Despite, the defeat, Queensland Reds are still at second place in Australian conference.

Fly-half Quade Cooper got Reds off the mark in the fourth minute with a penalty and soon Samu Kerevi and wing Eto Nabuli crossed over in the 11th and 23rd minute respectively. Cooper added conversions on both the occasions to take the lead to 17 points for Reds.

Scrum half Mitchell Drummond provided some respite for Crusaders when he danced past the line in the 27th minute and Mitch Hunt added the conversion but Cooper added his second penalty in the 34th minute to stretch the lead to 13 points at half time.

After the third quarter went without a point, replacement Bryn Hall went past the line in the 62nd minute but Crusaders suffered a major setback when Jordan Taufua was sin-binned in the 68th minute.

Despite, trailing by eight points heading into the final five minutes, Hall scored his second try in the 76th minute while Hunt contributed with another conversion and penalty to seal a thrilling two point win for the visitors.