The Crusaders extended their extraordinary unbeaten home playoff record to 33 matches, overpowering the Blues 52–31 in a high-scoring qualifying final at a sold-out One NZ Stadium. Fullback Johnny McNicholl ran in a hat-trick, captain David Havili produced another commanding display in the midfield, and a 20-minute red card to Blues number eight Malachi Wrampling for a high tackle on Leicester Fainga’anuku proved the decisive turning point as the defending champions ran in eight tries to five.
Key moments
3 mins – TRY BLUES: The Blues went deep into the lineout where Malachi Wrampling collected and fired an inside pass to AJ Lam, who sliced into a hole before dishing a short pass to Sam Nock, who brought it around to score just to the right of the posts. Zarn Sullivan converted. (Crusaders 0–7)
9 mins – 50/22 BLUES: Sam Nock popped a deft chip down the right edge that bounced into touch 17 metres out, giving the Blues attacking lineout position deep in Crusaders territory. The visitors threatened to extend their lead but their execution let them down.
12 mins – TRY CRUSADERS: After a Blues error in contact near halfway, the Crusaders swung it right through Jamie Hannah, Taha Kemara and Chay Fihaki before Antonio Shalfoon shifted it onto Johnny McNicholl, who passed to Sevu Reece. Reece cut back inside Lam to score out wide on the left. Kemara converted from 13 metres in. (Crusaders 7–7)
19 mins – RED CARD BLUES: Malachi Wrampling was initially shown a yellow card for a forceful high tackle on Leicester Fainga’anuku, making direct shoulder-to-head contact after Fainga’anuku received an offload from Noah Hotham. The TMO told referee Nic Berry there was a high degree of danger with no mitigation, and the card was upgraded to a 20-minute red. Braydon Ennor came on for Dallas McLeod as the Crusaders reshuffled.
21 mins – TRY CRUSADERS: With the Blues down to 14, the Crusaders built through the phases before Ethan Blackadder dished an offload to Christian Lio-Willie, who flicked off a brilliant pass in the tackle to McNicholl, who slipped through to score under the posts for his first. Kemara converted. (Crusaders 14–7)
27 mins – TRY BLUES: The Blues found touch six metres out and claimed the lineout through Segner. Their maul was thwarted two metres out but Ofa Tu’ungafasi and Patrick Tuipulotu hammered close to the line before Anton Segner burrowed low to get the ball down on the goal line. Sullivan converted from 17 metres in. (Crusaders 14–14)
30 mins – TRY CRUSADERS: Blackadder sent Fainga’anuku rumbling forward with a short pass before the ball was worked through Hannah, Ennor, Brewis and Hotham. It was then spread left to David Havili, who slipped through the front line and showed good strength to carry Segner over to score. Kemara converted. (Crusaders 21–14)
33 mins – TRY CRUSADERS: The Crusaders mauled forward before Fainga’anuku peeled off and kept the ball alive near the touchline. Hannah and Ennor worked it inside the five before the ball was shifted right to Reece, who fired a long bounce pass to Chay Fihaki. Fihaki cut back infield before slipping through the tackles of Sam Darry and Tu’ungafasi to score. Kemara’s conversion missed. (Crusaders 26–14)
38 mins – TRY CRUSADERS: The Crusaders opted to tap a penalty five metres out. Codie Taylor hammered forward within a metre of the line before quick hands from Hotham to Lio-Willie to Kemara freed the fly-half, who stepped sharply off his left foot and sliced through to score. Kemara converted. (Crusaders 33–14)
Half-time: Crusaders 33–14 Blues. The Blues got off to a dream start through Nock and threatened to double their lead with the 50/22, but the Wrampling red card tilted the match decisively. The Crusaders scored four tries while the Blues were short-handed and took a commanding 19-point lead into the break.
50 mins – TRY CRUSADERS: Hoskins Sotutu worked it over halfway before Pita Ahki chipped ahead to Kemara. The Crusaders swung it wide left to Havili, who slipped past two defenders and streaked into space before drawing a pass inside to McNicholl, who sprinted away to score his second. Kemara converted. (Crusaders 40–14)
52 mins – NO TRY BLUES: Sotutu was held up over the line by Havili and Hotham. With no clear angles to prove a grounding, the on-field call of no try was upheld. Goal-line dropout Crusaders.
54 mins – TRY BLUES: Sotutu zipped off the back of the scrum and rumbled up to the five-metre line. Finlay Christie passed to Xavi Taele, who slid over to score under the posts. Sullivan converted. (Crusaders 40–21)
63 mins – TRY CRUSADERS: Manumaua Letiu pounced on an errant Blues lineout throw and the Crusaders surged forward. They swung it left to Fihaki, who combined with Rivez Reihana, who dished a short pass to McNicholl. The fullback ran a cracking angle, slicing through the gap to score his hat-trick try out wide. Reihana converted. (Crusaders 47–21)
69 mins – TRY BLUES: The Blues were awarded a free kick as Christie tapped quickly and fired a pass into the midfield. A slick Stephen Perofeta offload sent Segner off on a 20-metre run through the middle of the defence. The Blues recycled quickly and the ball was spread to Taele, who fired a long pass right to Payton Spencer, who dived over in the corner. Taele’s conversion missed. (Crusaders 47–26)
74 mins – TRY CRUSADERS: Lio-Willie took the lineout and the Crusaders’ maul rumbled forward towards the goal line, gathering momentum before stampeding over out wide where Manumaua Letiu collected the five-pointer to bring up the half-century. Reihana’s conversion missed. (Crusaders 52–26)
77 mins – TRY BLUES: The Blues swung it wide from a scrum where Cole Forbes streaked up to the 22. Josh Beehre worked it forward before the ball was spread wide left, where Caleb Clarke pinned his ears back for the corner. McNicholl rushed across but was unable to stop him as Clarke got airborne for an acrobatic finish. Taele’s conversion hit the left upright. (Crusaders 52–31)
Full-time: Crusaders 52–31 Blues
Match report
Death, taxes and the Crusaders winning home playoff fixtures. The defending champions added another chapter to one of sport’s most remarkable streaks, powering past the Blues with eight tries to five in a sold-out qualifying final that was effectively decided by a single moment of recklessness in the 18th minute.
Until then, the contest had been absorbing. The Blues silenced the 25,000-strong crowd inside the opening three minutes when a smart lineout play put AJ Lam through a hole, drawing the fullback and freeing Sam Nock to score. When Nock then landed a 50/22 in the ninth minute to give the visitors attacking lineout position deep in Crusaders territory, it appeared the Blues had arrived in Christchurch with genuine intent. But their execution let them down, and the Crusaders levelled through a slick long-range team try finished by Sevu Reece after a strong run from fellow wing Chay Fihaki.
The flashpoint arrived as both sides locked into an arm-wrestle. Wrampling smashed Fainga’anuku high after the Crusaders flanker received an offload from Hotham, making direct shoulder-to-head contact that almost bent the loose forward in half. Referee Nic Berry initially showed a yellow card, but the TMO quickly intervened, telling Berry there was a high degree of danger with no mitigation. The sanction was upgraded to a 20-minute red, much to the delight of the home crowd.
The Crusaders took only two minutes to capitalise, McNicholl dotting down under the posts courtesy of a cracking Lio-Willie offload after Blackadder had started the move. To their credit, the Blues appeared galvanised by the adversity. They rolled up their sleeves and strung together nearly 30 phases before Segner, a former member of the Crusaders’ academy, burrowed low to score and level the match at 14-all.
It was game on — albeit not for long. The Crusaders knocked the stuffing out of the Blues with three tries in eight minutes to roar to a 33–14 lead at the break. Havili, who has been in career-best form in recent weeks, bagged one with a powerful surge through weak tackling. Fihaki cut back infield off his wing before brushing off multiple attempted tackles to extend the lead to 12 points, exposing a defensive commitment that was well below what was required. Kemara then showed good footwork to step sharply off his left foot and slice through just before the interval, capping the half with four conversions from six attempts. The Blues were falling off tackles — 33 missed across the match — against a team oozing with confidence.
Havili was at it again shortly after half-time, fending off Segner and breaking out from inside his own half before putting McNicholl in for his second in the 50th minute. The Blues had a try ruled out moments later when Sotutu was held up over the line by Havili and Hotham, but Taele pegged one back from close range after Sotutu’s powerful carry off the back of the scrum.
The 35-year-old McNicholl completed his hat-trick in the 63rd minute, running a cracking angle to finish off a slick move involving Fihaki and replacement Rivez Reihana after Letiu had pounced on an errant Blues lineout throw. Brought in mid-season to cover the injured Will Jordan, McNicholl has seized his opportunity with both hands, and his three tries were a fitting reward for a performance of pace and intelligence from the former Wales international.
The Blues kept coming. A slick Perofeta offload sent Segner off on a 20-metre charge through the middle, and the ball was eventually spread wide for Spencer to dive over in the corner. But the Crusaders always had the answers. Letiu crashed over on the back of a powerful rolling maul to raise the half-century, before Clarke provided the final act with an acrobatic finish in the left corner after Forbes had made good ground off a scrum.
Havili said his side had drawn on the rich Crusaders history that includes 13 titles. “It’s pretty special. We spoke about it this week, and we know how good we are at finals football, and we just backed our history in that,” the captain said. “There’s a few boys who aren’t out there, but we trust everyone in our jersey.”
At the breakdown, Fainga’anuku and Lio-Willie caused havoc throughout, winning multiple turnovers, while Hannah had several eye-catching moments as he ranged wide. For the Blues, Segner toiled hard all afternoon with several strong carries and a try, Lam was dangerous on the right edge, and replacement hooker Eli Oudenryn again gave a nod to the future with a notable impact off the bench. But the visitors have now coughed up almost 200 points across their last four matches — conceding 36, 47, 59 and 52 — and they will limp into the semi-finals, if they get a lifeline, knowing they need a dramatic improvement.
Ofa Tu’ungafasi’s milestone — his 165th Blues appearance, surpassing Keven Mealamu’s record of 164 — deserved a better occasion. With Beauden Barrett still absent and a late bench change seeing Cole Forbes replace Corey Evans in the matchday 23, this was a Blues side that lacked the composure and firepower to match the Crusaders at their fortress. As they eye a tilt at a 14th title, the Crusaders will hope injured tighthead props Fletcher Newell and Seb Calder return next week. Regardless, they are hitting form at the right time of year. Sound familiar?
Teams
Crusaders: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Chay Fihaki, 13 Dallas McLeod, 12 David Havili (c), 11 Sevu Reece, 10 Taha Kemara, 9 Noah Hotham, 8 Christian Lio-Willie, 7 Leicester Fainga’anuku, 6 Ethan Blackadder, 5 Jamie Hannah, 4 Antonio Shalfoon, 3 George Bower, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Finlay Brewis.
Replacements: 16 Manumaua Letiu, 17 Jack Sexton, 18 Gus Brown, 19 Tahlor Cahill, 20 Dom Gardiner, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Rivez Reihana, 23 Braydon Ennor.
Blues: 15 Zarn Sullivan, 14 AJ Lam, 13 Xavi Taele, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Stephen Perofeta, 9 Sam Nock, 8 Malachi Wrampling, 7 Anton Segner, 6 Torian Barnes, 5 Sam Darry, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu (c), 3 Marcel Renata, 2 Bradley Slater, 1 Ofa Tu’ungafasi.
Replacements: 16 Eli Oudenryn, 17 Mason Tupaea, 18 Flyn Yates, 19 Josh Beehre, 20 Hoskins Sotutu, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Cole Forbes, 23 Payton Spencer.
Match details
Crusaders 52 (Tries: Reece 12’, McNicholl 21’ 50’ 63’, Havili 30’, Fihaki 33’, Kemara 38’, Letiu 74’; Conversions: Kemara 4/6, Reihana 1/2)
Blues 31 (Tries: Nock 3’, Segner 27’, Taele 54’, Spencer 69’, Clarke 77’; Conversions: Sullivan 3/3, Taele 0/2)
Half-time: 33–14
Red card: Malachi Wrampling 19’ (Blues — high tackle on Leicester Fainga’anuku, upgraded from yellow)
Venue: One NZ Stadium, Christchurch (sold out)
Referee: Nic Berry (Australia). Assistant referees: Reuben Keane, Louis Trisley. TMO: Brett Cronan.
What’s next
The Crusaders advance to next week’s semi-finals, with their opponent and venue determined by the Chiefs v Reds qualifying final in Hamilton. A Chiefs victory sends the Crusaders to Hamilton for a rematch of last year’s grand final, while a Reds upset would see the Crusaders host in Christchurch. The Blues’ fate also rests on that result: a Chiefs win keeps them alive as the lucky loser, facing the Hurricanes in Wellington, while a Reds victory ends their season.
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