Crusaders
12
Match Complete
Highlanders
33
| 74 |  | M. Hunt | ||
| 73 |  | C. Garden-Bachop | ||
| D. Havili | | 68 | ||
| 58 | | M. Hunt | ||
| 57 | | M. Collins | ||
| 51 |  | M. Hunt | ||
| R. Mo'unga | | 43 | ||
| C. Taylor | | 42 | ||
| 33 | | M. Hunt | ||
| 25 | | M. Hunt | ||
| 23 | | B. Harmon | ||
| 18 | | M. Hunt | ||
| 11 | | M. Hunt |
| 2 | Tries | 3 | ||
| 1 | Conversions | 3 | ||
| 0 | Penalty Goals | 4 | ||
| 0 | Field Goals | 0 |
The Crusaders will be looking to continue their unbeaten run in Super Rugby Aotearoa when they face the Highlanders at Orangetheory stadium tonight. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 5:05pm (AEDT).
The Crusaders have been the benchmark for Super Rugby Aotearoa this season, winning four from four, and have shown no signs of slowing down. The Highlanders have had a shocker so far, only one win from their four matches, and will be desperate to put themselves back into contention with a win tonight.
The head-to-head matchup sees the Crusaders ahead 25-12, with 16 of the Crusaders victories coming at home.
In their last meeting, the Crusaders left the deep south with an easy win, 26-13. The Highlanders will need to raise their game immensely from last week’s loss to the Hurricanes to have any chance of knocking off last year’s champions.
The Crusaders will be well refreshed after completing their bye and will be looking to Richie Mo’unga to repeat his heroics from two weeks ago, where he put the Blues to the sword. They will be looking to do the double over their southernmost rivals and continue their blockbusting form as they look towards the Super Rugby Aotearoa final.
The Crusaders have made two changes coming out of the bye with the excitement machine George Bridge returning to the starting 15 on the right wing. The in-form Leicester Fainga’anuku retains his spot on the left wing with Sevu Reece moving to the bench. Mitchell Drummond comes into the starting lineup for his 98th Crusaders cap which forces Bryn Hall onto the bench.
Meanwhile, this Highlanders squad has been thrown into turmoil with six players stood down for breaking team standards. Josh Ioane, Sione Misiloi, Daniel Leinart-Brown, Marino Mikaele-Tu’u, Teariki Ben-Nicholas and Patelesio Tomkinson were all dropped from the squad for “breaking the code” according to coach Tony Brown. They will however be buoyed by the inclusion of Jona Nareki who has passed all his fitness tests and will be looking to continue the form that has him as a potential All Black bolter.
The Highlanders have made a number of other changes to the team that looked out of sorts last week against the Hurricanes. Another exciting inclusion to the starting lineup is flanker Kazuki Himeno. The Japanese international looked strong in his debut last week and will be looking to add some much needed fire to the Highlanders pack.
In other selections, Thomas Umaga-Jensen, Scott Gregory and Folau Fakatava have come into the starting lineup while Aaron Smith moves to the bench. Caleb Makene comes onto the bench and will be looking to make an impression as he makes his Super Rugby debut.
Prediction
With the players being stood down for this Highlanders squad grabbing the headlines, the Crusaders will dominate this matchup and could be looking at a cricket score by the end of the game. They have been the most dominant team in Super Rugby Aotearoa this season and have the lineup to completely overpower the Highlanders and leave them anchored to the bottom of the table.
Game information
Kick-off: 5:05pm (AEDT)
Venue: Orangetheory Stadium, Christchurch
Live stream: Stan Sport
Betting: Crusaders $1.10, Highlanders $7 (odds via PlayUp)
Teams
Crusaders
1. Joe Moody, 2. Codie Taylor, 3. Michael Alaalatoa, 4. Scott Barrett, 5. Sam Whitelock, 6. Ethan Blackadderl, 7. Sione Havili Talitui, 8. Cullen Grace, 9. Mitchell Drummond, 10. Richie Mo’ungat, 11. Leicester Fainga’anuku, 12. Davd Havili, 13. Jack Goodhue, 14. George Bridge, 15. Will Jordan
Bench: 16. Brodie McAlister, 17. George Bower, 18. Oliver Jager, 19. Mitchell Dunshea, 20. Whetukamokamo Douglas, 21. Bryn Hall, 22. Fergus Burke, 23. Sevu Reece
Highlanders
1. Ethan De Groot, 2. Ash Dixon, 3. Siate Tokolahi, 4. Bryn Evans, 5. Pari Pari Parkinson, 6. Shannon Frizell, 7. Billy Harmon, 8. Kazuki Himeno, 9. Folau Fakatava, 10. Mitch Hunt, 11. Jona Nareki, 12. Thomas Umaga-Jensen, 13. Michael Collins, 14. Freedom Vahaakolo, 15. Connor Garden-Bachop
Bench: 16. Liam Coltman, 17. Ayden Johnstone, 18. Josh Hohneck, 19. Josh Dickson, 20. Hugh Renton, 21. Aaron Smith, 22. Caleb Makene, 23. James Lentjes
Very True but its a good amount of less pressure games to let him get used to being a 10 again so he at least doesnt come back cold
JD Kiwi
Roar Rookie
I wouldn't assume that form in the lopsided Top League tells us much about potential effectiveness in big tests!
He doesnt even make the bench to me.......BB at 10, JB, DM or Jordan at 15 and which ever doesnt play 15 out of DM and Jordan is on the bench... If you think of the versatility of BB DM JB and WJ they have all but outside centre covered.....So you have ALB starting and he covers 12 and 13.... That would allow a 6-2 bench if wanted....
BB is playing pretty good in Japan at 10 and write-ups Im reading are talking of his 2016 form in the way he is playing.....I think its time they went head to head for the 10 instead of moving the 2 times best player in the world around to suit a good but not great player... FB is covered pretty well with JB, DM and Jordan who are doing great jobs there...
JD Kiwi
Roar Rookie
I don't for one minute think that Mo'unga is a top test ten yet, although they say it takes 30 tests to be comfortable and he's had 15 starts. But he's a more rounded ten than BB and to expect any ten to take control when their forwards are being smashed is unrealistic. And a lot of his best work for the Crusaders has been with his team down on the scoreboard and definitely not dominant up front.
Yet Mounga had the extremely experienced Drummond at 9 and Hunt had the 3 game Fakatava at 9.....
JD you cant have it both ways...You praise Mounga as the game winning genius when they win and the forwards are dominant but you dont want to put any blame on Mounga when the forwards get beaten.....He makes bad decisions when under pressure and in Tests he is under way more pressure than in SR so he makes way more bad decisions.....
Paulo
Roar Rookie
That’s a correlation, but where is the link, the causation? Also, it must be noted that the ABs did have several once in a generation players, and not just players, but combinations too ie Nonu/Smith in the mid. I think it just makes sense that the more the domestic sides are strong, then stronger, the ABs are. But having a domestic comp that’s competitive doesn’t necessarily mean all teams are strong; it just means they are all the same level, or there abouts.
Highlander
Roar Guru
I had a nephew there, he is a rabid Cantab ( from the shallow end of the gene pool obviously) but he knows his code. After 10 mins he texted, 'we re not up for the fight' , could feel the lack of intensity under pressure
Rugby Tragic
Roar Rookie
All in the timing Highlander. Maybe Crusaders are starting to believe their own press but seriously no one can take any credit away from the Highlanders performance. There, as you know is no such thing as a perfect game but from 1-23 I thought that Brown’s boys really put in for 80 mins .. the scoreboard pressure started to build on the Crusaders and as they got desperate, mistakes crept in. Not sure I’d envy the next team to play them ( Hurricanes) but at home they might be able to stimulate the vulnerability just a bit more. :silly:
Malotru
Roar Rookie
One Scott Gregory written off by some after his debut outing with the Highlanders last year was very impressive also. I've also said it before, Fakatava is a serious player and Connor Garden-Bachop is shaping up very well also. Delighted for the Highlanders.
Terry Tavita
Roar Pro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=So9_jPZLQrU
nroko
Roar Rookie
The Golden Generation of the ABs (2011 2015 world cups) coincided with no Super Rugby wins for the ‘Saders. They were unlucky in 2011 and 2014, but the rest of the time they were wrestled by other NZ teams (or the Bulls). So it shows when other NZ sides are doing well against ‘Saders its generally good for ABs.
Paulo
Roar Rookie
So, even if the Boks were around, it would hardly mean that the ABs were not as good as they (the ABs) were. It just means potentially there was another good side.
Scotty P
Roar Rookie
How do you know? The supposed home of rugby, Stan aren't even showing the South African games. Instead we get 2 average Japanese games. Foxtel were miles better with their overall coverage.
Highlander
Roar Guru
Wasnt it interesting to see the Crusaders make so many mistakes behind the gain line, Jordon the worst of them We always think that taking the 3 isnt enough to beat them but they buckled under the scoreboard pressure like everyone else.
JD Kiwi
Roar Rookie
I'm not attacking Carter! I've already agreed that he was immense and that we could have lost the game without him. I even called him the GOAT. I also agree that he was targeted and was magnificent in that final, and indeed the semi final. And I raise you his superb decision making. However to say that the All Black pack was dominated in that match is a total fabrication, at best Australia had a good sin bin period where they scored two tries. The other thing is, New Zealand never had a lead of less than four points. Whereas the Crusaders were always playing catch up. Carter steadied the ship with a fantastic drop goal; Mo'unga would have been pilloried for attempting a drop goal when so far behind. I'll say it again, even Carter wasn't in the habit of doing something special to win behind a dominated pack.
Bobby
Roar Rookie
The Loss the Crusaders had to have !
JD Kiwi
Roar Rookie
Three late tackles from the Wallabies prop. I was fuming that he wasn’t carded.
Harry Selassie
Roar Rookie
That was superb from the Highlanders. Been awhile since I have seen a team force the Crusaders into so many mistakes. The entire Highlanders team performed well but Bryn Evans and Mitch Hunt stood out above the rest. Who had Bryn Evans at 36 being one of the most influential players returning home for this season?