The Canterbury Crusaders rallied from a 12-point deficit in the second half yesterday to beat the Western Force 29-24 and move into top spot in the Super 14 standings.
The Force led 17-12 at the break and then 24-12 on 50 minutes when Lachlan Mackay finished off a long-range try in which he handled twice.
But the Crusaders responded, with Ali Williams barging over from a quick tap in the 54th and Casey Laulala crossing for the winner in the 68th minute on a counterattacking movement.
PHOTO: AFP
"We had to work hard for it ... we're very relieved," Canterbury captain Richie McCaw said.
"We just didn't put any pressure on them, we either turned the ball over or gave it back to them," he said.
After half time, "we wanted to play down their end and force them into mistakes, and fortunately a few came," McCaw said.
Force captain Nathan Sharpe blamed handling errors for the loss.
"The disappointing thing is we presented too many opportunities in our defensive area, too many turnovers -- the Crusaders are the masters of tidying that up and they made us pay," he said.
The Force searched desperately for a try in the dying minutes, ending at fulltime when a long ball to Scott Staniforth deep inside the attacking quarter went into touch.
The five-try bonus-point win moved the unbeaten Crusaders to the top of the Super 14 table after four rounds with 19 points.
The Force picked up two points -- one for scoring four tries and one for losing by less than seven -- and are in sixth place on the standings with 11 points and a 2-2 record.
The Force scored three tries to the Crusaders' two in the first 40 minutes, taking the lead through teenage backrower David Pocock in the 10th.
All Blacks flyhalf Dan Carter beat Wallaby rival Matt Giteau to touch down for the Crusaders in the 16th and prop Greg Somerville pounced on a Force error to score out wide to give the visitors a lead in the 28th.
The Force responded immediately, with Ryan Cross finding holes in the defense and finally scoring when Giteau sent him across in the 29th minute.
Cross combined with Staniforth in the buildup to Richard Brown's try in the 33rd minute to give the Force a five-point buffer at the half.
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