Match Centre: Crusaders 33-16 Hurricanes

Crusaders 33-16 Hurricanes, Orangetheory Stadium
Scorecard

Crusaders extended their dominance in the Super Rugby Aotearoa as they outplayed Hurricanes with a 33-16 win at Orangetheory Stadium on Sunday.

This is their second win from as many games as they hold the top place in the table while Hurricanes are at the bottom after losing both their matches.

An infringement at ruck from Crusaders allowed Hurricanes to open their account in the fourth minute through a penalty from Jordie Barrett and 10 minutes later the All Blacks star landed his second three-pointer making it 6-0.

Nevertheless, it was total domination from the hosts in the second quarter as they ran four tries in a span of 17 minutes. It was greatly aided by Ardie Savea's sin-bin for collapsing a maul.

First it was Codie Taylor, who breached the defence of Hurricanes to dot down in the 22nd minute and three minutes later it was Richie Mo'unga, who scored a converted try after taking an offload from Mitch Drummond.

As Savea returned from sin-bin, Crusaders went on to get their third try around the half-hour mark with this time Ethan Blackadder diving from close range making the scoreline 21-6 and just before the break, Scott Barrett dived over the corner to make it 26-6.

The Crusaders were relentless in their attack as they extended their momentum into the second half in which Taylor completed his second in the 47th minute and Mo'unga's conversion took their tally to 33 points.

Hurricanes finally got a breather when they won a penalty at rolling maul saw replacement Ricky Riccitelli dotted down before Peter Umaga-Jensen's touchdown in the closing stage helped them reduce their losing margin.

Team line-up:

Crusaders: 15 David Havili, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Dallas McLeod, 11 Leicester Fainga'anuku, 10 Richie Mo'unga, 9 Mitchell Drummond, 8 Cullen Grace, 7 Tom Christie, 6 Ethan Blackadder, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Scott Barrett, 3 Michael Alaalatoa, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody.

Reserves: 16 Brodie McAlister, 17 George Bower, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Quinten Strange, 20 Sione Havili Talitui, 21 Bryn Hall, 22 Fergus Burke, 23 Will Jordan.

Hurricanes: 15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Wes Goosen, 13 Peter Umaga-Jensen, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Jackson Garden-Bachop, 9 Jonathan Taumateine, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Du'Plessis Kirifi, 6 Reed Prinsep, 5 Isaia Walker-Leawere, 4 James Blackwell, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Asafo Aumua, 1 Fraser Armstrong.

Reserves: 16 Ricky Riccitelli, 17 Xavier Numia, 18 Tevita Mafileo, 19 Liam Mitchell, 20 Devan Flanders, 21 Luke Campbell, 22 Billy Proctor, 23 Salesi Rayasi.