Crusaders hold off Blues to extend streak in semifinal thriller

They have done it again. The Crusaders have extended their Super Rugby home playoffs record to 31-0 with a thrilling 21-14 victory over the Blues after defending their line for the final five minutes-plus.

It means the red and blacks have qualified for a home final next weekend against either the Chiefs or the Brumbies, who will play in Hamilton tomorrow, after scoring 21 unanswered points against a Blues side which got to within a hair’s breadth from forcing the match into extra-time tonight.

It took a turnover under his own posts from loose forward Christian Lio-Willie to finally seal a victory which was far more hard-fought than the scoreline suggests – the Blues laying siege to the Crusaders line for fully five minutes after the final siren had sounded on a typically cold Christchurch winter’s evening.

The Crusaders wildly celebrated with relief after Rivez Reihana gratefully kicked the ball out of the stadium to prompt the final whistle.

After their terrible blip last year during which they won only four competition games, the Crusaders have qualified for yet another final and on balance it was a deserved victory for a side generally used to winning at this time of year.

On the whole they were the more disciplined side – the Blues losing prop Joshua Fisitua and No.8 Hoskins Sotutu for yellow cards due to high tackles in either half respectively, and, while the Crusaders lost Braydon Ennor to a yellow card due to a high tackle on Sotutu in the first half, the home side were far tidier after the break.

Indeed, they may have wondered how the Blues got away with giving up seven penalties in a row without conceding another yellow card after beginning the second half with far more energy and intent than the visitors.

It was a different story in the first stanza as the Blues, determined to play no-mistake rugby, kicked often in the hope of forcing mistakes and they generally had the better of the early exchanges, Crusaders halfback Noah Hotham a little nervy early on and veteran hooker Codie Taylor struggling with his handling.

The pressure told, with Mark Tele’a doing well to finish a well-worked move in the right corner, the right wing then turning provider from an attacking scrum to put midfielder Rieko Ioane in near the posts for another converted try to put the Crusaders in a hole 14-0. Ioane's score allowed him to overtake Doug Howlett as the Blues' highest try scorer.

But back the Crusaders came amidst a high-octane match which featured several players coming on and off for head injury assessments.

First, flanker Tom Christie went over from close range to narrow the deficit and then prolific fullback Will Jordan scored the first of his two tries – also from close range.

Jordan’s try, after he crashed through Patrick Tuipulotu and AJ Lam, prompted a pushing and shoving match between the teams, a contretemps which became a feature of a hard-fought and high-stakes game between two traditional rivals.

The Crusaders had by far the better of the second half. They started with energy and determination and we rewarded by Jordan’s second try – his 47th in 65 games.

The home side enjoyed a territorial and possession advantage and took advantage of hooker Ricky Riccitelli’s brief period at loosehead prop due to Fisitua’s failed HIA and Jordan Lay’s ongoing assessment, but couldn’t quite put the visitors away.

That failure to put a seal on the match almost came back to haunt the Crusaders, who, while they defended well and had heroes across the park in the form of loosehead prop George Bower, in for the injured Tamaiti Williams, Scott Barrett, skipper David Havili and the energised Jordan, had to dig extremely deep in the finale.

Unfortunately for the Blues, led by a slightly wounded Beauden Barrett (shoulder) at the finish, and without the sinbinned Sotutu until the last minute, could not force the extra-time that their coach Vern Cotter had eerily predicted during the week.

Crusaders 21 (Will Jordan 2, Tom Christie tries; Rivez Reihana 3 cons)

Blues 14 (Mark Tele’a, Rieko Ioane tries; Beauden Barrett 2 cons)

Halftime: 14-14