Following the Crusaders’ 31-24 victory over the Hurricanes in Wellington, here are our five takeaways from the New Zealand Super Rugby Pacific derby.
The top line
It was a nip-and-tuck victory for the Crusaders in the end as Rob Penney’s charges keep the pace at the top of the table.
The front-row union celebrated three tries for the ‘Saders with prop Tamaiti Williams and in-form hooker Ioane Moananu (2) crossing for five-pointers for the visitors with James O’Connor and Chay Fihaki rounding out the scoring for the tournament’s most successful club.
Meanwhile, it is more heartbreak for Du’Plessis Kirifi and his men as Peter Umaga-Jensen (2) and Peter Lakai grabbed tries in another defeat for the Clark Laidlaw-coached side that fell short of a late comeback.
The Crusaders raced into a 24-10 lead at the break despite conceding the first try, and while it was a rather dominant display until that point, they fell off the pace in the second half, with the Hurricanes capitalising to mount their fightback but could not finish off the job.
Vintage Jason Ryan Crusaders
Jason Ryan will have watched today’s match with a beaming smile on his face as the Crusaders pack produced a dominant display akin to those they put in when he was in charge.
Williams’ score was a smart bit of innovation, getting the powerhouse prop to enter the maul late, having started the lineout out in the backline. His entry into the maul resulted in an explosion forward but it was initially set superbly, a trademark of Ryan’s tenure.
On the flip side, the Hurricanes got almost no purchase from their driving maul, with the Crusaders defending outstandingly in that facet of the game, making it a difficult platform for the hosts to launch from.
The ‘Canes seldomly contested at lineout time which gave Barrett and co. clean attacking ball from the set-piece but the hosts weren’t afforded the same luxury in possession with Ethan Blackadder, Scott Barrett, Cullen Grace and Jamie Hannah making life difficult for hooker Asafo Aumua and his jumpers.
Referee James Doleman was quick to award free kicks, particularly in the first half, at scrum time, meaning that Williams and Fletcher Newell were denied opportunities to battle their fellow All Blacks. However, the Crusaders did hold their own even when scrummaging with one less player.
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Scott Barrett lays down a marker
“I hold myself to a high standard and potentially some of the performances early in the year haven’t been where I’d like,” All Blacks skipper Barrett admitted earlier in the week.
“It’s the media’s job to create interest and I’ve got opinions on performances and possibly those opinions have been not far off the mark.
“Having reflected upon that [last week], I’m looking forward to bounce this week.”
And bounce back Barrett did. His timing and angle on his run to unlock the Hurricanes’ defence in a wonderfully crafted move was simply perfect to set up Moananu for his first try while he assisted another score for Fihaki.
Those two actions were his real highlight plays, but he did much more that won’t be clipped up with dramatic music on YouTube. His lineout work was excellent as the Crusaders posted a 100% success rate at the set-piece while he was a willing carrier and distributor.
He was a key component in stalling the Hurricanes’ maul too and put in a tidy breakdown shift. In short, it was a statement performance from the All Blacks captain.
All Blacks battles
As is the case with most New Zealand derbies, there were several All Blacks head-to-heads and a lot for Scott Robertson and co. to takeaway.
Ruben Love over-hit a few of his kicks, but one cannot fault his effort and endeavour as he did his utmost to fire some life into the Hurricanes’ attack. He was up against the brilliant Will Jordan and while the one-cap All Black was bettered by the Crusaders star, he certainly had a notably good game.
From the full-backs to the front-row, Aumua produced a powerful and effective shift in defeat but was outplayed by the in-form All Blacks hopeful Moananu, who has been simply excellent since filling in for the injured Codie Taylor. Few would have put Moananu anywhere near an All Blacks squad at the start of the year but right now, he looks more bolted-on squad member than a bolter.
Robertson and Ryan will be smitten about the hooker stockings in 2025 especially with Moananu sticking his hand up and Samisoni Taukei’aho back in action.
One-cap All Blacks centre Umaga-Jensen quite clearly got the better of David Havili who had a nightmarish return from injury. The Crusaders captain conceded silly penalties and made uncharacteristic mistakes, which hinted that this match was too soon for him, while Umaga-Jensen was solid and effective from minute one to 80, grabbing a brace of tries.
The scrums were, unfortunately, not too much of a feature today, but the scrum-halves were as Cam Roigard reinforced his position as the frontrunner for the starting All Blacks number nine while Noah Hotham may have fallen down the pecking order.
Roigard’s service was excellent throughout his shift, and the Hurricanes really should have capitalised on it more. But it was his kicking game that separated him and Hotham as even when Roigard skied a kick gaining about a metre, he regathered it himself and punted wonderfully down the pitch.
Hotham was solid outside of his kicking, which really let him down as far too often he got too much height and not enough distance or vice versa, making life easy for Love in the backfield.
Crusaders charge, Hurricanes fall further off the pace
The Crusaders’ revival looks very much back on track now after the hiccup against Moana Pasifika. There are still glaring issues in their game, like the discipline in the latter stages and drop-off in intensity but their defence was strong enough to weather the Hurricanes’ storm.
The win, that should have been with a bonus point, sees them move into top spot for a few hours at least. But crucially, they are in the top four at a pivotal point in the season and once it comes to the knockout stages, you can’t write off the men from Canterbury.
In stark contrast, the Hurricanes are blowing key matches and are falling further off the pace for a play-off spot. They still have time to turn things around but we are not far off of squeaky bum time.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/hurricanes-v-crusaders-five-takeaways-as-vintage-jason-ryan-tactics-flattens-canes-while-star-forward-looks-bolted-on-all-black
