Crusaders hold on for dramatic win over Hurricanes on the road

On a windy Friday night in the capital, the Crusaders sent a message to the rest of the competition in Super Rugby Pacific with a 31-24 win over the Hurricanes at Sky Stadium, although a late fightback from the hosts made for a dramatic finish.

The Hurricanes scored the opener less than 10 minutes into the contest, but Rob Penney’s men took control from there with a 31-3 point-scoring run, which had the result in little doubt before even the half-time interval.

At least that’s how it seemed.

Two yellow cards against the Crusaders and a Hurricanes try set up a grandstand finish at the Cake Tin.

One-Test All Black Peter Umaga-Jensen and Pouri Rakete-Stones led the Hurricanes out of the sheds ahead of their 50^th appearances for the club. The rest of the team followed soon after, with the men from the capital chasing revenge after a round one loss to the Crusaders.

Fullback Ruben Love kicked things off on a windy night in Wellington, and right from the get-go, this highly-anticipated New Zealand derby lived up to the hype. There were some mistakes in tough conditions but the passion and intensity was there.

The first real point-scoring opportunity came about eight minutes into the match, with the hosts awarded a penalty less than 10 metres out from the Crusaders’ tryline. But instead of pointing towards the sticks and taking the easy three, the Hurricanes chased a five-pointer.

First five-eighth Riley Hohepa kicked for the corner. While the attempted rolling maul didn’t lead to points, the Canes wouldn’t be denied for long as Umaga-Jensen capped off a milestone appearance with the first try of the evening.

Umaga-Jensen sliced through the Crusaders’ scrambling defence to score, with the midfielder fending off Chay Fihaki before beating Christian Lio-Willie to the line. To the delight of the Wellingtonian crowd, Hohepa added the extras to give the hosts an early seven-nil lead.

But the Crusaders struck back almost immediately.

Prop Tamaiti Williams bound onto a Crusaders maul, which had initially been driven backwards, and gave the pack the boost they needed. The maul began to march forward and it quickly became clear the visitors were about to score their first points of the derby.

While playmaker Taha Kemara failed to add the extras, the visitors took the lead a few minutes later as hooker Ioane Moananu linked up with lock Scott Barrett. Barrett got the ball in open space, and sent Moananu over with a simple draw-and-pass.

Midway through the first term, the Crusaders led 12-7.

Hohepa reduced the deficit to two points with a penalty in the 22^nd minute, but it was one-way traffic for the Crusaders from then on in the half. After coming onto the park as a replacement, former Wallaby James O’Connor scored a brilliant individual try on the 30-minute mark.

O’Connor ran onto a loose ball off an overthrow at the lineout, spun through a tackle attempt or two, and beat Cam Roigard with pace to score under the posts. The flyhalf knocked over the easy conversion to extend the team’s lead.

That wasn’t all, either.

Following a clever chip-and-chase from Levi Aumua, the Crusaders played with front foot ball inside the Hurricanes’ 22. They seemed certain to spread the ball led, but Barrett chose to go short side instead, with the All Blacks skipper finding Fihaki unmarked on the sideline.

Fihaki still had plenty of work to do, but the outside back made the most of the opportunity with a stunning one-handed diving effort into the corner. With the conversion missing the mark, the Crusaders would ultimately take a 14-point lead into the sheds.

An early penalty gave the Crusaders a golden opportunity to strike once again, with Kemara – back from a HIA – kicking for the sideline. The Saders’ pack set up for a maul about 10 metres out from the try line, while another penalty advantage was awarded.

Once again, Kamara kicked for the sideline, with the visitors searching for that knockout blow. The serial champions were made to wait a bit longer for that score, but it came through Moananu who dove over on the back of a maul in the 50^th minute.

But the match was still far from over.

Peter Lakai hit back for the Canes before the 65^th minute mark which gave the hosts a glimmer of hope deep into the contest. Two yellow cards against the Crusaders made things very interesting – Ethan Blackadder and Antonio Shalfoon both leaving the park.

Umaga-Jensen scored under the posts in the 73^rd minute to help make it a seven-point ballgame while the Crusaders were down to 13. The match’s momentum had well and truly swung in the Hurricanes’ favour.

The Hurricanes had one last attacking maul with time up on the clock, but the Crusaders did what they needed to do as they hung on for a dramatic 31-24 win on the road.