Crusaders come from behind to snatch unlikely pre-season victory over Highlanders
The Crusaders have fought back from a 26-point half-time deficit to defeat the Highlanders 28-26 and reclaim the Farmlands Cup in front of a packed crowd in Temuka.
The Temuka Rugby Club was bursting at the seams as locals clambered to see the South Island rivals go head-to-head in their first pre-season clash of the year.
Those in attendance didn’t leave disappointed, as the match hung in the balance right until the final kick of the contest.
It seemed as though the result wasn’t going to be as tight as it eventually turned out to be when the Highlanders roared out to a 26-0 lead at half-time.
Numerous players from the Dunedin side’s backline starred in the opening stanza, which led to some scintillating team tries.
Spearheaded by highly-touted halfback Folau Fakatava was among those to stand out as he provided a high-energy display and put teammates into holes with his crisp, flat passing.
In doing so, he gave the Highlanders plenty of momentum with ball, with midfielders Patelesio Tomkinson and Fetuli Paea – playing against his former side – constantly crashing the Crusaders defensive line.
Electric wing Jona Nareki also made a nuisance of himself through his attacking kicks and sublime footwork, and was rewarded for his efforts with a try from a Fakatava chip kick into the in-goal area.
Livewire fullback Connor Garden-Bachop was perhaps the best of the lot, though, with the youngster making a good impression of himself as he made his first appearance under the eye of head coach Tony Brown.
The collective skills of the entire Highlanders backline was enough to put wing Ngatungane Punivai, another former Crusader, into the corner to score a well-worked first half try following some slick counter-attacking and passing.
The visitors’ other two tries came from hooker Liam Coltman, who – despite the odd wobbly throw at the lineout – capitalised on his forward pack’s cohesion and dominance at the set piece.
Three conversions from four attempts by ex-Crusaders playmaker Mitch Hunt put the Highlanders in good stead at the break, but an overhaul in personnel from both teams for the second half sparked a monumental comeback from the hosts.
The Offload panel discuss whether England's Saracens contingent should be picked on merit over form… ???????? pic.twitter.com/PQ63qumGyg
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The introduction of Timoci Tavatavanawai, a wider training squad member for the Crusaders who is yet to play at Mitre 10 Cup level, proved crucial for the reigning Super Rugby Aotearoa champions.
Despite his inexperience at first-class level, the former Fiji U20 wing hardly looked out of place as he scorched the Highlanders’ defence on two separate occasions to grab a brace in his first outing as a Crusader.
Just how often Tavatavanawai will feature for Scott Robertson’s side this year remains to be seen given the depth of quality in his outside back stocks, but he certainly caught the eye as the Crusaders clawed their way back into the game.
Equally as impressive was the barnstorming run made by 140kg rookie prop Tamaiti Williams, who burst well into Highlanders territory from inside his own half to set up fellow front rower Fletcher Newell for the Crusaders’ third try.
Trailing by just five points and dominating the second-string Highlanders side, the Crusaders took full advantage of their opponents’ ill-discipline to bag a try, scored by Sione Havili, from a rolling maul with only a couple of minutes left to play.
An unblemished kicking record off the tee from one-test All Blacks first-five Brett Cameron edged the Crusaders ahead by two points, but the Highlanders had the chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat when they were handed a penalty on full-time.
Replacement first-five Caleb Makene stepped up to take the shot at goal from about 45 metres out on the angle, but his attempt fell short of the mark as the ball hit the padding on the post.
That allowed the Crusaders to boot the ball out of play to reaffirm their status as Farmlands Cup champions for a third year running.
The victory came with a cost, though, as loosehead prop Oli Jager left the field with a potentially serious injury and was unable to put weight on his left foot.
As for the Highlanders, locks Josh Dickson (head knock) and Bryn Evans (ribs) were the only casualties, although both are expected to be back in action soon.
The Highlanders will continue their pre-season against the Hurricanes in Alexandra next week, while the Crusaders will face the Blues in Auckland.
Crusaders 28 (Tries to Timoci Tavatavanawai (2), Fletcher Newell and ??; 4 conversions to Brett Cameron)
Highlanders 26 (Tries to Liam Coltman (2), Jona Nareki and Ngatungane Punivai; 3 conversions to Mitch Hunt)
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to comments