Crusaders beat Blues 36-20 at One NZ Stadium

Crusaders 36-20 Blues, One NZ Stadium

The Crusaders strengthened their Super Rugby Pacific finals push with a 36-20 victory over the Blues at One NZ Stadium.

The hosts kept their perfect record at the venue intact and delivered a composed performance despite finishing the match under heavy pressure after late cards.

Leicester Fainga’anuku was central to the win, producing a powerful all-round display from the back row and creating several key moments as the Crusaders stayed in touch with the top three.

Bower Scores In 100th Game

The Blues opened the scoring through an early Stephen Perofeta penalty, but the Crusaders quickly took control through their forwards and set-piece pressure.

The first try came from a clever lineout move, with Fainga’anuku delivering an inside pass to George Bower. The prop powered over for his first Super Rugby try in his 100th appearance.

The Crusaders struck again when Fainga’anuku chipped ahead after being held up near the line. Jamie Hannah reacted quickest to the loose ball and scored, giving the hosts a 12-3 lead.

Blues Hit Back Before Halftime

The Blues responded strongly late in the first half. AJ Lam produced a superb counter-attacking try after the visitors turned the ball over inside their own 22 and broke away from deep.

Just before halftime, the Blues struck again. A kick in behind created pressure and led to a five-metre scrum, from which Sam Nock scored to give the visitors a narrow 13-12 lead at the break.

Crusaders Regain Control

The Crusaders started the second half with purpose and quickly reclaimed the lead. Rivez Reihana stepped through the Blues defence to score under the posts before Kyle Preston made an immediate impact off the bench, finishing down the blindside after sharp work in the build-up.

Fainga’anuku was involved again when he put in a grubber for Sevu Reece, who finished to stretch the Crusaders’ lead to 31-13.

Late Cards Fail To Stop Crusaders

The Blues were given a late opening when Kurtis MacDonald was shown a red card for a dangerous contest on Stephen Perofeta. Jack Sexton was then yellow-carded, leaving the Crusaders reduced to 13 men.

Hoskins Sotutu scored for the Blues to reduce the margin, but the visitors could not fully capitalise on the numerical advantage. Instead, George Bell crossed late for the Crusaders to secure the bonus-point try and seal the 36-20 win.

Team line up:

Crusaders: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Dallas McLeod, 12 David Havili (c), 11 Macca Springer, 10 Rivez Reihana, 9 Noah Hotham, 8 Christian Lio-Willie, 7 Leciester Fainga’anuku, 6 Ethan Blackadder, 5 Jamie Hannah, 4 Antonio Shalfoon, 3 Fletcher Newell, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 George Bower

Reserves: 16 George Bell, 17 Jack Sexton, 18 Seb Calder, 19 Tahlor Cahill, 20 Dom Gardiner, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Cooper Grant, 23 Kurtis Macdonald

Blues: 15 Zarn Sullivan, 14 Kade Banks, 13 AJ Lam, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Stephen Perofeta, 9 Sam Nock, 8 Hoskins Sotutu, 7 Dalton Papali’i, 6 Malachi Wrampling, 5 Sam Darry, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu (c), 3 Sam Matenga, 2 Bradley Slater, 1 Ofa Tu’ungafasi

Reserves: 16 James Mullan, 17 Mason Tupaea, 18 Flyn Yates, 19 Laghlan McWhannell, 20 Anton Segner, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Xavi Taele