Hurricanes storm past Crusaders

On Saturday night the Hurricanes took on the Crusaders in Wellington, in what was really a must-win

game for both franchises. After losing to the Hurricanes in round seven, the Crusaders were looking to even the score but came up short, with the Hurricanes taking out the game 16-9.

The Crusaders were the under-dogs going into the game, missing captain Richie McCaw through a rib injury, and explosive outside back Nemani Nadolo, who was on duty for the Fijian national team. From the start of the game, one had the sense that the Hurricanes were going to be too strong for the Crusaders to beat, even with the early losses of Victor Vito (calf) and Alapati Leiua (ankle).

While the Crusaders were the dominant team at the set piece, the Hurricanes were powerful when on defense, and threatening when on attack. Julian Savea was at his typical best and made a few storming runs which had the crowd on their feet and screaming. I was very surprised when the final whistle blew and Savea didn't have a try to his name... or three tries!

The Hurricanes forwards were also dominant; Brad Shields in particular, had an impressive game, forcing turnovers and he stole the ball on more than one occasion. It was great to see him have a decent stint on the field, after a season plagued by injuries.

No write-up about the game would be complete without mentioning Blade Thomson. Not only was he effective on both attack and defense, he also scored the Hurricanes' two tries... not only is it rare to see the Hurricanes forwards scoring tries, it is even rarer to see one scoring two tries! I, for one, am looking forward to seeing him in the amber and black of Taranaki in the ITM Cup!

Hurricanes' first five, Beauden Barrett, had an uncharacteristically bad night with the boot, kicking at 66% after missing 3/5 attempts at goal. Unlike Barrett, Crusaders first five Colin Slade had a perfect night with the boot, slotting 3/3 before he went off in the second half with concussion. Slade was replaced by Dan Carter, in his first appearance since coming back from sabbatical. Carter's performance wasn't particularly memorable, but it was good to see him back in red and black!

The game was predictably a very physical one. A scuffle between Dane Coles and Andy Ellis turned into an all-out brawl, with most players on the field either involved in the scuffle, or trying to break it up. The ref spoke to both captains, but there were no yellow cards resulting from the brawl.

A yellow card was however given to Matt Todd, early in the first half, for entering the ruck from the side. After his ten minutes in the naughty chair, Todd returned and went on to give the most complete performance by any of the Crusaders forwards. He made a 18 tackles, the most of any Crusader, and third only to Ardie Savea and Ben Lam (both with 20). As well having the highest number of tackles, Todd also ran the most metres (38) of any of the Crusaders.

Neither team gave a perfect performance. The Crusaders were great at lineout and scrum time, but they made far too many handling errors, seeming to only ever go a maximum of five phases before dropping the ball or knocking it on. The Hurricanes were the opposite. Their scrum was – let's face it – awful, their lineout was marginally better, but their handling was GOOD. Had the Crusaders' handling been better, they could have won the game. Had the Hurricanes been better at the set piece, they could have won the game by a far more sizeable margin.

The Crusaders' seeming reluctance to use players off the bench is potentially another reason they failed to secure the win. Luke Whitelock was having an off night and should have been replaced at half time by Kieran Read. Slade, while having a good night kicking for goal, had a shocker of a night when it came to kicking for touch, with hardly any of his attempts being successful. I was surprised (as was the rest of the nation, it seemed) that he wasn't replaced until well into the second half, and then it was only because of his concussion test.

In all, the game was a bit of a let-down for me. And not just because the Crusaders lost! I was hoping for a fast-paced, high-scoring game full of lots of flashy running. I wanted it to be a thriller, a game that came down to the last second (think Highlanders v Crusaders from round 15). I wanted try after try after try. Alas, it was not on the cards.

Am I sad the Crusaders lost? Yes. Am I worried about the Crusaders' finals hopes? Yes. Do I think the best team won on the night though? Yes. Yes I do.