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Crusaders put dent in Western Force's finals hopes with clinical win

By AAP
(Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)

The Crusaders have put a big dent in the Western Force’s Super Rugby Pacific finals hopes with a clinical 48-13 bounce-back win in Christchurch.

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The defending champions delivered a set-piece masterclass to put the Force to the sword with an eight-tries-to-one drubbing at Orangetheory Stadium.

The Crusaders dominated the scrum and lineout, made hay with their deadly driving maul and dazzled their home fans with some beautifully executed tries from a backline brimming with class.

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All Blacks five-eighth Richie Mo’unga typically pulled the strings but some lovely touches from star fullback Will Jordan in his long-awaited return from an inner-ear vestibular issue would have most pleased Crusaders coach Scott Robertson.

Jordan hasn’t played since last September and, with 21 tries from as many Tests, the attacking sensation’s successful comeback would also have been a huge relief for embattled All Blacks coach Ian Foster five months out from the World Cup.

The Force briefly led through a pair of penalty goals from debutant flyhalf Max Burey but Jordan put the Crusaders back in control after slicing through the defence to put winger Leicester Fainga’anuku over in the 25th minute.

The 11-times champion were never headed again.

A Macca Springer try a minute from halftime was a coach killer for Force mentor Simon Cron and vaulted the Crusaders out to a 24-6 lead at the break.

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Any hopes of a comeback were extinguished a minute after halftime when hooker Brodie McAlister completed a try-scoring hat-trick with his third driving maul five-pointer.

Stung by last week’s loss to the table-topping Chiefs, the Crusaders continued piling on the tries with Fainga’anuku and Springer both collecting doubles and hooker Codie Taylor also crossing.

The Crusaders would have won even more handsomely had Mo’unga not missed five conversion attempts, mostly from out wide.

With the Hurricanes suffering a surprise 27-24 loss to the Fiji Drua earlier on Saturday, the Crusaders surged into second spot with the bonus-point victory.

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“We put in a lot of work during the week after last week’s performance, especially the scrum and happy to see that,” McAlister said.

The injury-hit Force are at the other end of the table, languishing in second-last position above only the winless Moana Pasifika and probably needing to win three of their last four games to scrape into the finals for a first time after missing out last year by one competition point.

They host the Drua next week before having further home games against heavyweights the Chiefs and Brumbies plus a trip to Melbourne to face the Rebels.

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Adrian 1 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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Trevor 4 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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