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
Good 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.
16 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
16 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
16 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
16 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
16 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
16 Go to comments