The Canterbury Crusaders went to the top of the Super Rugby table after a 49-14 bonus-point win over the Sunwolves in Brisbane, Australia, yesterday.
The Crusaders scored seven tries to two to move to 23 points, one ahead of fellow New Zealand outfit the Auckland Blues.
The Sunwolves, who could well have been playing their last ever Super Rugby match because of uncertainty over the competition’s future due to the COVID-19 pandemic, were much improved on previous weeks and were within a converted try midway through the second half trailing 21-14.
Photo: AFP
However, the Crusaders stamped their authority on the match, running in four converted tries in the final 20 minutes.
Canterbury, who rested a host of All Blacks for the match, led 14-7 at halftime and then scored immediately after the break when lock Luke Romano crashed over.
Sunwolves flyhalf Garth April struck back with a brilliant solo try under the posts to narrow the gap, but despite losing replacement hooker Hugh Roach to a red card in the 66th minute and Sevu Reece to a yellow two minutes later, the Crusaders had too much class for their Japan-based rivals.
Photo: AFP
“It was a little bit touch and go there for a bit,” Canterbury captain Bryn Hall said.
“It just comes back to the enthusiasm and experience in the side — down to 13 men in the second half — it just shows the resilience and character we have in our group,” he said.
Later in Australia, the Queensland Reds beat the South Africa-based Bulls 41-17.
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