Super Rugby

Crusaders beat Chiefs in Hamilton

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The Chiefs have played the Crusaders 36 times in Super Rugby since 1996, the Chiefs have won 16 matches, lost 21 times and drawn none.

The Chiefs’ 16 wins give them a record of winning 42% of their matches against the Crusaders regardless of venue.

  • The Crusaders have won six of their last eight Super Rugby games against the Chiefs (L2), including an 18-13 win when they met in Round 3 of Super Rugby Aotearoa – their third-lowest aggregate score of all-time in Super Rugby.
  • The Chiefs have won seven of their last 10 Super Rugby games at home against the Crusaders (L3), including their previous two on the bounce -both in which they had trailed at half-time on the day.
  • The Chiefs have lost a club-record seven consecutive Super Rugby games heading into this fixture; however, they have managed to earn a losing bonus point from six of those seven games.
  • The Crusaders have scored eight tries in the final 20 minutes of their games in Super Rugby Aotearoa, the most of any team in the competition – twice as many as the Chiefs (4).
  • Lachlan Boshier (Chiefs) has attended (174) and been effective at (142) the most rucks of any player in Super Rugby Aotearoa, as well as being the first player to hit a ruck the most times (87).

Match detail

We are waiting for the kick-off.

In the meantime, why not have a look at the match preview.

1.00: PEEEEP! We are underway at FMG Waikato Stadium, Hamilton.

2.00: Aaron Cruden brings up his century of Super Rugby matches, while the everlasting Sam Whitelock makes his 150th appearance in black and red.

4.00: Pita Gus Sowakula breaks from the base of the scrum and charges into the Saders’ half. Sean Wainui, sent away by Brad Weber, earns the first penalty of the game for the Chiefs.

5.00: MISS! Damian McKenzie pulls his first kick wide. 0-0

6.00: Cruden clears towards halfway after a kicking dual from both teams.

7.00: TRY! Tom Sanders races 40 metres down the right-hand touchline, after a well-worked lineout, to open the scoring for the visitors. 0-5

8.00: MISS! Richie Mo’unga misses fro wide. 0-5

11.00: The Chiefs win a penalty, kick to touch, but lose their throw. The Saders launch a counter-attack from their 22.

13.00: McKenzie clears to Mo’unga and the Crusaders go again. They are camped on the Chiefs’ try-line.

14.00: TRY! Will Jordan waltzes over from close range after a 14-phase attack. It all started from Mo’unga’s break near halfway. The Crusaders battered away at the line. Chiefs eventually ran out of defenders. 0-10

15.00: CONVERSION! Mo’unga adds the extras. 0-12

17.00: The Chiefs are starting to get their hands on the ball and are making inroads into the strong defence of the defending champions.

19.00: Shaun Stevenson breaks into the opposition’s 22, but after 10 phases, a forward pass kills a walk-in try for Sean Wainui. However, Tom Christie is caught offside, which allows the Chiefs to opt for a 6-metre scrum under the posts.

21.00: A couple of reset scrums.

22.00: TRY! Lachlan Boshier manages to get the ball on the line after Sowakula picked up from the base of the scrum and drove towards the line. Easy as you like. 5-12

23.00: CONVERSION! McKenzie adds the extras. 7-12

25.00: McKenzie calls for the tee after the Chiefs win a penalty.

26.00: PENALTY! No problem from the fullback. 10-12

30.00: Jordan makes up for his earlier mistake to claim Cruden’s missed penalty touch-finder. Somehow, the Crusaders knock-on the counter-attack to give the Chiefs another centre-field scrum.

34.00: Wainui knocks-on after a smart attack by Weber around the fringe of the ruck. The Chiefs have fought back well in the second quarter, but they must cut out the mistakes if they are going to get a first win of the competition.

36.00: More reset scrums before the visitors earn a penalty-advantage. Jack Goodhue loses the ball forward, but the ref calls the players back to the first infringement.

39.00: The Saders win another scrum-penalty before Fetuli Paea breaks in the wide channel. The ball is kicked away, and the chance is gone. The Chiefs continue to miss touch; instead, allowing the Crusaders time to launch attacks from deep.

40.00: YELLOW CARD! Stevenson is off for a deliberate knock-down. That is harsh because the winger looked to have just not caught the intercept. This is dangerous for the Chiefs. 10-12

41.00: TRY! Codie Taylor flops over after a powerful driving maul, the Chiefs’ forwards could do nothing to stop the set-piece. 10-17

43.00: MISS! Mo’unga pulls his kick well wide. 10-17

The halftime score was Chiefs 10 Crusaders 17

41.00: PEEEEP! We are back underway in New Zealand.

42.00: Boshier, who is having another superb match, wins the penalty at the ruck.

43.00: PENALTY! McKenzie lands the long-range kick. 13-17

46.00: Jordan’s weaving run ends with a scrum to the hosts after Cruden held-up the fullback, who should have passed for an easy try.

48.00: Sowakula breaks from the base of the scrum and charges towards the 22m-line. Weber slows play down before his box-kick is touched by an opposition hand into touch.

49.00: The Chiefs break from deep before winning a penalty on the 22 after Stevenson’s break.

50.00: PENALTY! McKenzie makes it a one-point ball game. 16-17

52.00: PENALTY! Mo’unga adds three of his won. 16-20

55.00: another penalty goes the way of the hosts. McKenzie chats with Weber and then calls for the tee.

56.00: PENALTY! No problem for the diminutive fullback. 19-20

59.00: The Crusaders come again, they are looking dangerous but cannot break the defensive wall down.

61.00: TRY! Sevu Reece dots down under the posts but the ball goes forward after Quinten Strange’s offload in the tackle; however, the ref and TMO decide the ball went backwards. Very strange indeed. That’s brutal. 19-25

62.00: CONVERSION! Mo’unga makes no mistake. 19-27

65.00: Scrum-penalty to the visitors.

66.00: MISS! The kick is not good. 19-27

67.00: TRY! Mo’unga breaks Cane’s tackle and sends Leicester Fainga’anuku away for the winning score. 19-32

68.00: MISS! Another miss by the first-five. 19-32

70.00: George Bridge saves the day with another cover tackle, however, the Chiefs win the penalty and kick to the corner.

73.00: The Chiefs win another penalty; the ref talks to Whitelock and tells him the next infringement is a card. Surely, that’s a card because the cynical play has killed the clock.

75.00: The Chiefs are battering the line before losing possession. The visitors break from their line to their 10m. That’s the game, I’m afraid.

78.00: The Crusaders’ pack is dominant, winning another penalty that is kicked to the 22.

80.00: The Chiefs are on the attack, but they cannot break some defiant defence. Andrew Makalio is offside allowing Trask to boot to touch. Reece drops the kick, so we have a lineout, after the hooter sounds, on the 22.

81.00: Another knock ends the game. The Crusaders are one step closer to a fourth SR title in a row.

FULL TIME

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The final score is Chiefs 19 (10) Crusaders 32 (17)

Scorers

Chiefs
Tries – Boshier
Pen – McKenzie (4)
Con – McKenzie
Drop –
Cards – Stevenson (Yellow, 40′)

Crusaders
Tries – Sanders, Jordan, Taylor, Reece, Fainga’anuku
Pen – Mo’unga
Con – Mo’unga (2)
Drop –
Cards –

Match Officials
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe
Assistant Ref 1: Paul Williams
Assistant Ref 2: Richard Kelly
TMO: Glenn Newman

Teams

Chiefs

15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Shaun Stevenson, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Sean Wainui, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Brad Weber, 8 Pita Gus Sowakula, 7 Sam Cane (captain), 6 Lachlan Boshier, 5 Mitchell Brown, 4 Tupou Vaa’i, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Bradley Slater, 1 Reuben O’Neill

Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Ollie Norris, 18 Angus Ta’avao, 19 Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 20 Simon Parker, 21 Lisati Milo-Harris, 22 Kaleb Trask, 23 Quinn Tupaea

Crusaders

15 Will Jordan, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Fetuli Paea, 12 Jack Goodhue, 11 George Bridge, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Mitchell Drummond, 8 Tom Sanders, 7 Tom Christie, 6 Sione Havili, 5 Mitchell Dunshea, 4 Sam Whitelock, 3 Michael Alaalatoa, 2 Codie Taylor (captain), 1 George Bower

Replacements: 16 Andrew Makalio, 17 Isi Tu’ungafasi, 18 Oliver Jager, 19 Quinten Strange, 20 Billy Harmon, 21 Bryn Hall, 22 Brett Cameron, 23 Leicester Fainga’anuku

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