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FULLTIME – Crusaders 20, Highlanders 25
Congratulations to the Highlanders who have defeated the favoured Crusaders tonight in Christchurch.
The game started off and it was all Red, with the Crusaders dominating and the Highlanders suffering a yellow card, shooting out to a 14-3 lead. The Highlanders hung on and with some scrambling defence, waited patiently for their chance and in the shadows of halftime struck, taking full advantage of some ordinary Crusader defence to be just the sole point behind at the halftime break, by 14 to 13.
I feel after the halftime break, the Crusaders fell into the Highlanders trap and went away from their forward strength and tried to take the Highlanders on in a wide game and the Highlanders took full advantage, scoring two tries to shoot out to a 25-14 lead and then clung on with some stout defence to restrict the Crusaders to only two more penalties to finish with a margin of five and a confidence boosting victory while the Crusaders will be lamenting a number of unforced errors and an inability to take full advantage of their early dominance
The South Island derby sees the Crusaders taking on the Highlanders from AMI Stadium in Christchurch. Join The Roar for all the action from 5:30pm (AEST).
This is the second meeting between the southern New Zealand rivals for the 2015 season, with the Crusaders drawing first blood in Dunedin in Round 2.
Both teams head into the match with good form, the Crusaders returning from South Africa after a comprehensive win over the Sharks in Durban, and the Highlanders defeating the Stormers before last week’s bye.
The Highlanders appear to have the advantage in the backs, particularly the back four with Ben Smith leading the charge.
With plenty of pace and power at their disposal, the Crusaders will need to be on their toes.
The Crusaders themselves also look to have found their feet out wide and with the return to form of fullback Israel Dagg and the menace of Nemani Nadolo.
The forwards though are likely to have the major say in this encounter, with an All Black-laden Crusaders eight looking, on paper at least, a real handful for a Highlanders pack that will need to punch well and truly above their weight.
In fairness, punching above their weight is exactly what the Highlanders forwards have been doing this year, suggesting they will not be intimidated by the vaunted Crusaders pack.
Still, they will need to be at the top of their game after the Crusaders dismantled the Sharks pack at Durban.
Tip
Crusaders.
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