A brilliant brace of tries from second-row Blade Thomson helped the Hurricanes labour past the Crusaders 16-9 in Wellington on Saturday.
Thompson scored on 23 minutes off a floated pass from fly-half Beauden Barrett to give the Wellington-based Hurricanes an 11-3 lead at half time, then completed a double in the 73rd with a 60 meter-dash for the try that clinched the match.
The Hurricanes’ eighth win of the season lifted them from sixth to fifth place on a crowded championships ladder, just a point behind the Crusaders who took a bonus point to stay in fourth.
But the Hurricanes have only one match remaining in the regular season while most of their playoffs rivals have two.
The Crusaders, who have conceded first place in the New Zealand conference to the Dunedin-based Highlanders, have matches remaining against the Auckland-based Blues and Highlanders as they try to press claims to an eighth Super Rugby title.
The Hurricanes entered Saturday’s match without their regular captain, All Blacks centre Conrad Smith, who broke his thumb during June’s internationals against England.
They then lost All Blacks back-rower Victor Vito to a calf injury and Samoa center Alapati Leiua to a knee injury inside the first eight minutes.
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But they overcame those setbacks to dominate the first half, achieving a 69 per cent territorial advantage as the lethargic Crusaders struggled to defuse their kicking game.
Superiority
The Crusaders were slow to react to the threat of kicks deep into their territory and to respond to the pressure of the Hurricanes’ kick-chase, at which winger Julian Savea was most effective.
The Hurricanes’ superiority wasn’t reflected on the scoreboard and they were lucky when Thompson’s first try allowed them to go to halftime with an eight-point cushion.
Crusaders full-back Tom Taylor was caught near his goalline as he collected a Hurricanes kick, the Hurricanes turned the ball over and Thompson came off the touchline to catch Barrett’s long pass and score.
Barrett had earlier kicked two penalties to reach 198 points for the season, beating his franchise season pointscoring record of 197 points set in 2012.
The Crusaders were much better in the second half, working off a strong set piece. Fly-half Colin Slade kicked his second and third penalties to cut the lead to 11-9 before being forced from the field in the 47th with concussion.
He was replaced by All Blacks star Dan Carter, who made his first Super Rugby appearance of the season, ending a six-month sabbatical.
The Crusaders pressured the Hurricanes’ line but couldn’t score and saw the match snatched from them after Thompson ran onto a short kick from winger Cory Jane, won a favorable bounce, and ran 60 meters to score.
Article source: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/06/26/rugby-safrica-preview-idUKL4N0P73SS20140626
Super Rugby: Hurricanes beat Crusaders 16-9 in Wellington
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