Sevu Reece scored twice on his 100th appearance, including a sideline conversion of his own try, as the Crusaders hammered a heavily rotated Hurricanes side 47–14 at One New Zealand Stadium to leap above the Blues into third place.
Key moments
9 mins – TRY CRUSADERS: Codie Taylor broke away from a lineout maul, with Dallas McLeod charging past the 5m line before the ball was shifted left for Sevu Reece to squeeze over. Taha Kemara converts. (Crusaders 7–0 Hurricanes)
13 mins – TRY HURRICANES: Taniela Filimone ran hard at the line from the scrum. Cam Roigard sniped from the ruck and put Brad Shields over under the posts. Callum Harkin converts. (Crusaders 7–7 Hurricanes)
25 mins – TRY CRUSADERS: Counter-attack from deep. David Havili stepped past one defender and broke another from inside his own 22, linking with Christian Lio-Willie who offloaded superbly to send Noah Hotham over down the left. Kemara converts. (Crusaders 14–7 Hurricanes)
30 mins – INJURY: Fletcher Newell left the field with a knee injury after making a try-saving tackle on Josh Moorby. He was later seen in a knee bandage.
32 mins – TRY CRUSADERS: Hotham sniped dangerously before McLeod drove towards the line, creating numbers out wide. Johnny McNicholl hit the gap and rolled with Harkin to touch down. Kemara converts. (Crusaders 21–7 Hurricanes)
35 mins – TRY CRUSADERS: Lio-Willie scooped up a loose ball and charged up the left. Chay Fihaki made metres down the right before it was shifted back left to Johnny Lee, then Reece punched to the line and offloaded for Lio-Willie to walk in. Kemara misses from the left. (Crusaders 26–7 Hurricanes)
Half-time: Crusaders 26–7 Hurricanes. One-way traffic from the hosts. Reece thrived on his milestone night, while Havili’s counter-attacking break set up Hotham’s try. The Hurricanes managed one reply through Shields but offered little structure. Rivez Reihana failed an HIA early (8 mins) and did not return, while Newell’s knee injury is a major concern ahead of the play-offs.
40 mins – SUBSTITUTIONS: Hurricanes replaced Roigard (Viljoen), Numia (Rakete-Stones) and Lomax (Mafileo) at the break, having got their returning All Blacks through unscathed.
63 mins – TRY CRUSADERS: Reece broke down the flank and found Oli Mathis, who carried strongly. The ball was kept alive through Liam Jack and Mathis again before Manumaua Letiu finished under the posts. Kemara converts. (Crusaders 33–7 Hurricanes)
71 mins – TRY HURRICANES: Consolation for the visitors as Pouri Rakete-Stones powered over at close range after a sustained period of forward carries. Harkin converts. (Crusaders 33–14 Hurricanes)
73 mins – TRY CRUSADERS: McNicholl broke through the middle and found Kyle Preston looming on the inside to score under the posts. Kemara converts. (Crusaders 40–14 Hurricanes)
77 mins – TRY CRUSADERS: Bailyn Sullivan tried to run it from deep but had the ball ripped, falling to McLeod who slipped it to Reece to stroll over in the corner for his second. Reece then converted his own try from the left sideline. (Crusaders 47–14 Hurricanes)
Full-time: Crusaders 47–14 Hurricanes
Match report
Another sold-out crowd at One New Zealand Stadium expected a statement from the Crusaders on a night when two milestones, a play-off race and a pile of injuries all converged. They got one. Rob Penney’s side ran in seven tries to two against a Hurricanes team that had already secured top spot and rested accordingly, leaping above the Blues into third and putting the pressure squarely on Vern Cotter’s men to win in Hamilton on Saturday night.
The evening began with Reece walking onto the field first, alongside his daughter, to a rousing ovation from the home crowd. It nearly began without Ethan Blackadder too — the openside was scratched during the warm-up with a niggle, elevating Johnny Lee into the starting line-up and Oli Mathis onto the bench. It was the latest in a growing list of injury setbacks for the defending champions, who had already lost Scott Barrett (back surgery) and Will Jordan (calf) for the season earlier in the week.
Those concerns did not show in the opening exchanges. The Crusaders dominated territory from the outset, spending most of the first ten minutes camped inside the Hurricanes’ half. Taylor broke away from a lineout maul and McLeod punched through a hole before Reece peeled to the left of the ruck and squeezed over for the opening try — his 72nd in the red and black, extending his lead as the franchise’s all-time top try scorer. Kemara, on early after Rivez Reihana failed an HIA in just the eighth minute, added the extras.
The Hurricanes hit back immediately. Filimone, making his debut on the wing, carried hard at the line from a scrum, and Roigard — sharp in his return from a calf injury — sniped around the ruck and found Shields with a smart short ball. The captain powered over under the posts and Harkin converted to level the scores at 7–7.
It would be the visitors’ only meaningful contribution in the first half. The Crusaders reasserted control and produced the try of the night in the 25th minute. Fihaki pilfered possession deep inside the Crusaders’ half, and Havili took the ball at pace from inside his own 22. The captain fended off Arese Poliko, broke another tackle and sprinted upfield, keeping the ball alive through Lio-Willie and Reece before Hotham finished a sweeping 80-metre counter-attack down the left.
The momentum was entirely with the hosts now, though it came at a cost. Newell went down in the 30th minute after making a try-saving tackle on Moorby, departing with what appeared to be a serious knee injury. He was later seen in a bandage on the sideline. Seb Calder replaced him at tighthead.
The Crusaders did not relent. Hotham sniped dangerously again and McLeod drove towards the line, creating the overlap for McNicholl to crash over on 32 minutes, though replays suggested he may have lost control attempting to ground the ball. Three minutes later, Lio-Willie — who led all players with 17 carries at the break — scooped up a loose ball and charged upfield before the ball was worked left through Lee and Reece. Lio-Willie was on hand to finish in the corner but Kemara’s conversion slid wide, leaving the half-time score at 26–7.
Both coaches emptied their benches early after the break. The Hurricanes replaced Roigard, Lomax and Numia at half-time, having achieved their primary objective of getting minutes into their returning All Blacks without further injury. Isaia Walker-Leawere had also departed with a head knock in the first half and did not return. The Crusaders followed suit, with Havili, Hotham, Taylor and Bower all making way.
What followed was chaotic. A half-time firework display left smoke hanging in the air under the closed roof, and the quality of rugby matched the visibility. Both sides threw offloads with abandon, turned the ball over frequently and produced a stretch of play that Sky commentator Justin Marshall described as “a lolly scramble”. It was entertaining in its own shambolic way but lacked any structure from either side.
The standout in the chaos was debutant Cooper Roberts. The former New Zealand Under-20s centre, who replaced Havili at the interval, produced a classy step and offload on his first touch that very nearly created a try, only for McNicholl to throw a poor pass infield. Roberts is highly rated by the Crusaders and, with McLeod and Braydon Ennor departing at season’s end, is expected to play a prominent role in 2027.
The hosts eventually made the second half count in the 63rd minute. Reece broke down the left flank and found Mathis, who carried strongly before the ball was recycled through Jack and Mathis again. Letiu finished under the posts and Kemara converted for 33–7. Rakete-Stones barged over at close range eight minutes later for a Hurricanes consolation, but the Crusaders responded immediately — McNicholl identifying space down the short side, breaking the line and sending Preston under the posts.
Reece had the final word. Sullivan, on from the bench, tried to run it from inside his 22 but had the ball ripped. It fell to McLeod, who slipped it wide for Reece to stroll over in the corner. The centurion then stepped up to convert his own try from the left sideline, curling it through the posts to cap an emphatic night. It was his 73rd try for the franchise.
The result lifts the Crusaders to 41 points, three clear of the Blues in third. If the Chiefs beat the Blues in Hamilton on Saturday, the Crusaders will host a qualifying final at One New Zealand Stadium — a ground where they remain unbeaten since its opening in April. Their 32-from-32 home play-off record looms large. But the injury list is a growing concern: Jordan, Barrett, Newell, Reihana and Blackadder are all unavailable or in doubt, and the depth of that casualty ward will test even the Crusaders’ renowned squad depth as they chase a ninth title in ten seasons.
Match details
Crusaders 47 (Tries: Sevu Reece 2, Noah Hotham, Johnny McNicholl, Christian Lio-Willie, Manumaua Letiu, Kyle Preston; Conversions: Taha Kemara 5/6, Sevu Reece 1/1)
Hurricanes 14 (Tries: Brad Shields, Pouri Rakete-Stones; Conversions: Callum Harkin 2/2)
Half-time: 26–7
Venue: One New Zealand Stadium, Christchurch
Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)
Teams
Crusaders: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Chay Fihaki, 13 Dallas McLeod, 12 David Havili (c), 11 Sevu Reece, 10 Rivez Reihana, 9 Noah Hotham, 8 Christian Lio-Willie, 7 Johnny Lee, 6 Dom Gardiner, 5 Jamie Hannah, 4 Antonio Shalfoon, 3 Fletcher Newell, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 George Bower.
Replacements: 16 Manumaua Letiu, 17 Finlay Brewis, 18 Seb Calder, 19 Liam Jack, 20 Oli Mathis, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Taha Kemara, 23 Cooper Roberts.
Hurricanes: 15 Josh Moorby, 14 Taniela Filimone, 13 Josh Timu, 12 Jone Rova, 11 Kini Naholo, 10 Callum Harkin, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Arese Poliko, 7 Cooper Flanders, 6 Brad Shields (c), 5 Isaia Walker-Leawere, 4 Hugo Plummer, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Raymond Tuputupu, 1 Xavier Numia.
Replacements: 16 Jacob Devery, 17 Pouri Rakete-Stones, 18 Tevita Mafileo, 19 Tom Allen, 20 Matolu Petaia, 21 Jordi Viljoen, 22 Lucas Cashmore, 23 Bailyn Sullivan.
What’s next
The Crusaders will play either the Blues or the ACT Brumbies in a qualifying final next weekend. If the Chiefs beat the Blues in Hamilton on Saturday night, the Crusaders will host the match at One New Zealand Stadium. If the Blues win, they will secure third and a home qualifying final at Eden Park, with the Crusaders travelling as the fourth seed. The Hurricanes host the fifth- or sixth-placed team at Sky Stadium in Wellington on Friday 5 June.
Nations Championship2 weeks ago
Nations Championship3 weeks ago
Nations Championship2 weeks ago
Junior World Championship3 weeks ago
Nations Championship2 weeks ago
Nations Championship2 weeks ago
Junior World Championship2 weeks ago
Nations Championship3 weeks ago