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Crusaders make a statement in pre-season dismantling of Hurricanes

(Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)

Christopher Reive / NZ Herald

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With Super Rugby starting at the end of the month, plenty of questions will be raised over the coming weeks as the teams grow accustomed to playing on hard, dry surfaces in the heat of summer.

None of those early questions will be directed towards whether the new-look Crusaders can cope with the loss of veteran players.

The reigning champions provided plenty of early indications they’ll be more than ready to compete for an unprecedented fourth title in a row, with a 42-19 demolition of the Hurricanes in Ashburton on Saturday afternoon.

The Crusaders were slow out of the blocks. A sluggish start saw the Hurricanes break out to a 10-0 lead through tries to loose forward Du’Plessis Kirifi and midfielder Vince Aso.

Soon after Aso’s try, Crusaders midfielder Brayden Ennor burst through a couple of attempted tackles to scoot away for a try of his own, sparking the Crusaders attack.

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There was plenty of free-running football on display, which will likely be the case in the coming months as teams look to tired one another out in the heat.

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The opening 10 minutes were really all the Hurricanes had to write home about, as they faced a 28-12 deficit at half-time.

Both sides fielding fresh teams for the second half didn’t change things, although the Hurricanes did stem the flow from the opening 19 minutes of the half.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7evKFPAj4n/

After winger Fa’asiu Fuatai crashed over for the Crusaders in the 59th minute, the lead was near insurmountable. A late try to Hurricanes new recruit Kobus van Wyk gave the Hurricanes a faint hope, but the Crusaders proved to be too good, with a try to Sione Havili at the buzzer sealing an emphatic win.

Despite the result, there were some positives to take out of it for the Hurricanes. Vaea Fifita was damaging on defence in a first-half cameo, while the forward pack showed a solid display and their defence of the lineout drive was strong.

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The Crusaders will have another pre-season hit out next week, travelling to Wanaka to face the highlanders, while the Hurricanes face the Blues next week.

This article first appeared on nzherald.co.nz and is republished with permission.

Schalk Brits spoke to RugbyPass about his experiences bringing the William Webb Ellis trophy back to South Africa:

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Nickers 29 minutes ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

I thought we made a lot of progress against that type of defence by the WC last year. Lots of direct running and punching holes rather than using width. Against that type of defence I think you have to be looking to kick on first phase when you have front foot ball which we did relatively successfully. We are playing a lot of rugby behind the gain line at the moment. They are looking for those little interchanges for soft shoulders and fast ball or off loads but it regularly turns into them battering away with slow ball and going backwards, then putting in a very rushed kick under huge pressure.


JB brought that dimension when he first moved into 12 a couple of years ago but he's definitely not been at his best this year. I don't know if it is because he is being asked to play a narrow role, or carrying a niggle or two, but he does not look confident to me. He had that clean break on the weekend and stood there like he was a prop who found himself in open space and didn't know what to do with the ball. He is still a good first phase ball carrier though, they use him a lot off the line out to set up fast clean ball, but I don't think anyone is particularly clear on what they are supposed to do at that point. He was used really successfully as a second playmaker last year but I don't think he's been at that role once this year. He is a triple threat player but playing a very 1 dimensional role at the moment. He and Reiko have been absolutely rock solid on defence which is why I don't think there will be too much experimentation or changes there.

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