Unheralded Matt Faddes matched his illustrious teammate Waisake Naholo in an Otago Highlanders scoring spree when they beat Super Rugby competition leaders the Canterbury Crusaders 34-26 in Dunedin, New Zealand, yesterday.
The bonus-point, five-tries-to-two win completed a remarkable double for the defending champions, who last week beat the Waikato Chiefs, who had been top of the table for most of the season.
Faddes and All Blacks wing Naholo both scored two tries in the relentless running spectacle and it was outside center Faddes, a former sevens star and one of the fastest players in New Zealand, who set the pace. His ability to slice through the Crusaders’ midfield produced his first try and set up Naholo’s second, and Faddes broke the game open when he scored again with a 50m solo effort soon after halftime.
The Highlanders spent most of the first quarter scrambling in defense as the Crusaders effectively used the inside pass to have tight forwards Owen Franks, Wyatt Crockett and Luke Romano lead a procession through the inside channels. However, they were denied two tries by the television match official and Highlanders captain Ben Smith sensed a momentum switch.
“They were probably a bit unlucky not to score a couple of tries, but I’m really proud of the way we reacted to that and managed to get back into the game,” Smith said. “We knew we had to keep attacking. They’re a quality team and we had to get points on the board and on the back end of that we had to do a lot of defending and I think if paid off quite nicely.”
The Crusaders took a 9-3 lead before the Highlanders burst into life.
A Lima Sopoaga cross-kick put Naholo over in the corner for the first try and they then twice used the wrap-around move from a line-out for Faddes to score his first and send Naholo in for his second. Faddes extended the Highlanders’ lead to 27-12 early in the second half when he stepped inside Matt Todd on the halfway line and raced unopposed to touchdown.
The Crusaders eventually found their way over the line with a try to Jordan Taufua only for the Highlanders to reply with a try to Liam Squire before Israel Dagg finished off the scoring with the Crusaders second try on fulltime.
In Melbourne, Australia, the ACT Brumbies defeated the Melbourne Rebels 30-22 to claim top spot in the Australian Conference.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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