The Crusaders have three video games left to avoid wasting their Tremendous Rugby Pacific season after falling 32-29 to the Highlanders in an all-time traditional southern derby on Saturday night at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium.
With simply two wins from 11 matches, the Crusaders sit second-last on the ladder with only some common season matches to play. The excellent news is the defending champions are solely three factors behind the eighth-placed Fijian Drua.
Younger playmaker Cam Millar loved a career-best efficiency within the Highlanders’ NO 10 jersey with the pivot starring with a 21-point haul within the first half alone which went an extended technique to securing the decisive victory.
All Black Sevu Reece scored a try for the Crusaders just after the half-time interval but they wouldn’t score for almost another 40 minutes as the men from right down south held on for a win that has them well placed for finals football.
As for the Crusaders, they’ll go back to the drawing board ahead of crunch clashes against competition heavyweights the Brumbies and Blues before facing Moana Pasifika in their final match on May 31.
“It was an arm wrestle. We let in a few points in that first half,” captain Codie Taylor said on Sky Sport NZ after the match.
“Against the Landers who, they get a lot of confidence off the back of that at their home ground, it’s hard to claw your way back.
“I thought we played quite well when we had the ball in the first half and then we probably lost our way in the second getting caught in between the halfway, 40s area.
“Like I said, we looked really well when we had the ball. It’s when we didn’t have the ball we sort of lost our way – we weren’t winning collisions,” he added. “We talked about that all week.
“Our discipline let us down and that’s something that’s been happening the last few weeks. You can’t do that in this competition because you just get punished for it.”
Before the match, the Sky Sport broadcast showed a stat that suggested the Highlanders would have more than a 90 per cent chance of making the playoffs this season if they could get the better of their Kiwi foe.
The Highlanders had lost 19 games on the bounce against New Zealand opposition heading into this match-up, but it quickly became clear that this would be their night in front of a vibrant fan at the Dunedin venue.
Macca Springer scored a try for the Crusaders in the 81st minute which made the game seem closer than what it actually was. The Highlanders were firmly in control and deserved their three-point victory over the Saders.
“Extremely proud of the boys. (It was) a hell of a shift,” captain Ethan de Groot said post-game.
“You’ve got to give it to the Crusaders though, you can never take them too lightly. So proud of the boys on their effort tonight.
“I’ve got to put it down to those massive D-sets,” he added. “The boys never gave up.
“I’ll put it down to our defence tonight. The boys worked hard for each other.”