FINAL SCORE: CRUSADERS 17 - HIGHLANDERS 0
Full Time: Ash Dixon loses the ball forward and that is the game...A strange game to say the least..Highlanders played 60% of the game in their own half and without the ball for most of it. Clinical and relentless from the Crusaders..they will be a hard team to beat in any conditions moving forward. Have to feel a bit sorry for the Highlanders..game could have been different in better conditions and you have to remember they didn't get to Christchurch until six hours before kick-off. The Crusaders will play either the Chiefs or the Stormers. Highlights coming soon….thanks for your time tonight.
79mins: Highlanders giving it one last crack..attacking well here..30m out from the Crusaders line.
78mins: Potentially the final two minutes of Malakai Fekitoa's Super Rugby career. Off to Toulon in France..announced yesterday.
77mins: Time winding down..the Crusaders have the ball 25m out..going through the motions a bit here…and they lose the ball forward…Highlanders clear to halfway.
75mins: Injury break - looks like George Bridge.
74mins: Knock on by Ainley 20m out from his own line and the Crusaders have a chance to put a bit of icing on the cake.
73mins: Defensive penalty for the Highlanders…Ben Funnell pinged for holding on at the tackle. Lineout on halfway for the Highlanders..they are in consolation territory..this game and their season is gone.
71mins: Mo'unga can't kick anything from in front...stays at 17-0
70mins: Crusaders earn a penalty….Jackson Hemopo with a high shot on Goodhue….Whitelock wants to take the three—this should pretty much seal the deal.
68mins: Highlanders earn a defensive penalty..Scott Barrett with a cheeky little grubber that Banks collects well….but Barrett is pinged for diving off his feet.
65mins: Wyatt Crockett pinged for a tackle off the ball..Banks for the sideline and the Highlanders have a lineout 10m out. Whitelock grabs it against the throw and the Crusaders clear. Time running out fast for the 2015 champions.
64mins: Kick from Banks but it's to long and the impressive Havilli claims the mark. Lineout Highlanders 40m out.
63mins: Turnover for the Crusaders and Goodhue and Mo'unga combine..Crusaders into Highlanders territory now but Todd loses it foward..Highlanders go back on the counter..20m inside the Crusaders half.
61mins: Dagg smashes his exit kick down field – reply from Banks..more force back..alot of that tonight…Fekiotoa with a kick now and Havilli replies..Naholo says bugger this palava and runs it..Highlanders on halfway now.
59mins: 10 phases for the visitors – but Aki Seiuli loses the ball forward..not patient enough..they should learn from the opposition who have been very patient tonight on attack. Scrum 5m for the Crusaders.
58mins: Highlanders steal the lineout and go on attack 5m out.
57mins: Gareth Evans breaks free down the sideline..30m run..ball comes out to Banks who finds touch 5m out.
55mins: Defensive penalty for the Crusaders…Highlanders digging themselves hole after hole..Mo'unga clears to halfway.
54mins: Nice exit play from the Highlanders..Banks finds touch 30m out from the Highlanders line..relentless pressure from the Crusaders..relentless…80% possession.
52mins: Codie Taylor loses the ball forward and the Highlanders are still alive..just..defensive scrum.
50mins: Wow – that was some might defence from the Highlanders..wave after wave after wave..21 phases they repelled…Goodhue with a mine-break…gets the ball away to Mo'unga who is held up over the line..that was old fashioned rugby…brilliant ball retention from the Crusaders but that defence was next level. Scrum 5m for the Crusaders.
47mins: Havilli with a kick from halfway..brilliantly weighted….Naholo bundled out into touch..attacking lineout for the Crusaders 10m out.
46mins: A poor kick from Sopoaga and the Crusaders break out after Havilli swallows the kick..Godohue down the flank and kicks ahead but Lima with an outstanding piece of work saves the day…cleared by Marty Banks.
44mins: A bit of force-back results in a great kick from Dagg that leads to a Highlanders lineout on halfway.
43mins: Counter-attack chance for the Highlanders but Naholo loses the ball backwards..a bit of a pin-ball period of play..ball bouncing everywhere..end result is a Crusaders scrum on halfway.
41mins: Mo'unga goes long and Aaron Smith peels off a great reply past halfway..lineout Crusaders...Ash Dixon on for Coltman
Second half - Mo'unga gets the game back underway…the Highlanders will need to play the perfect half and hope the Crusaders play the opposite…Tony Brown admitting they are in trouble and gave full credit to the Crusaders…says his side needs to play smarter and kick less.
Halftime : Crazy half – with seven minutes left in the first half the Crusaders would have been worried given the amount of ball and field position they had – then the Highlanders defence caved and the Crusaders head to the sheds with a deserved 17-point lead and to be honest..on tonight's evidence, it's hard to see a way back for the Highlanders. Be back shortly.
40mins: TRY CRUSADERS - Codie Taylor - Great wet weather rugby form the Crusaders..relentless forward play…Taylor crashes over right on the siren..7 phases and eventually the Highanders cracked. Mo'unga nails the ext4ras..Highlanders have had zero ball with zero territory.
39mins: No try – that was weird..the touch judge was certain it wasn't grounded…was hard to tell from the angles given..Gardner initially was happy with it but Ben O'Keefe was adamant it was held up.Scrum Crusaders 5m out. Gardner was out of position and he felt O'Keefe had a better view so went upstairs with a no-try call.
38mins: Okay so could be a try for the Crusaders here..Gardner awarded it from a driving mall..but the touchy ran in and he feels it was held up. Under review now.
37mins: Another penalty for the Crusaders..they are just dominating possession here…Sopoaga pinged for being offside…Garner hands out the warning…Whitelock wants another lineout. Mo'unga wasn't confident when asked. 30m out.
33mins: TRY CRUSADERS: Kieran Read scores – he looked short but the referee is happy there was no double-movement..hmm that's a bit controversial but Gardner haopy with his call. Mo'unga nails it from out wide. 10-0. The hosts went through 14 phases..defence was solid but the Crusaders were relentless with their forward play and they get the reward.
30mins: Big scrum from the Crusaders…dominant….and Whitelock opts for the lineout with Mo'unga uncertain in these conditions..5m lineout for the hosts.
29mins: Scrum for the Highlanders..this game is being played at a hectic pace in terrible conditions..The Highlanders' have a scrum on their 10m line.
27mins: That is an awful attempt..would have missed two sets of posts..22 for the Highlanders.
26mins: Coltman concedes his 3rd penalty of the game in a handy spot for Mo'unga who will have a shot in front – 30m out.
25mins: Crusaders with 75% territory and 80% possession after 25 minutes.
23mins: Crusaders play through 10 phases..pretty standard attack…nothing too flashy…oops..mistake from Read..loses it forward..poor from Kieran Read…scrum Highlanders 20m out.
21mins: Helter skelter play again….eventually Aaron Smith with the box kick, brilliantly collected by Havilli who sets Dagg free but he is hammered by Buckman..great tackle…Crusaders stay on attack..10m out now but Tamanivalu is pinged for diving in over the top…relieving penalty for the visitors.
19mins: Mo'unga pushes it right...no goal....22 drop out for the Landers
18mins: Penalty for the Crusaders..late charge on Havilli by Leanert-Brown..stuoid play really…shot in from for Mo'unga.
15mins: Lost forward in the ruck by Coltman..Crusaders break away….Goodhue gets close..Coltman offside…knock-on against Matt Todd but penalty for the hosts..they opt for the lineout 5m out.
13mins: Game is fairly helter skelter..Highlanders clear after a mistake from Whitelock…Crusaders have edged their way back into Highlanders territory…big tackle on Read by Fekitoa and the ABs skipper loses the ball forward. Scrum Highlanders' on their own 30.
10mins: Box kick from Hall and Sopoaga loses the ball forward….Scrum Crusaders 30m out….nightmare evening for taking high balls.
8mins: Nice phase play from the Highlanders….eventually Whitelock crunches Coltman in a huge tackle and wins his side a penalty for holding on..Crusaders lineout on halfway.
6mins: Another great kick off from Lima….a bit of force back ends with a Highlanders lineout 10m inside Crusaders territory.
5mins: Yellow card Highlanders – TMO talked the ref into that for mine…Gardner didn’t seem that keen. Squire in the bin. Mo'unga lands the penalty...3-0 Crusaders.
4mins: Referee wants to look at potential foul play from Liam Squire..looks pretty bad..on Mo'unga after he kicked..swinging arm and late..let's see what happens.
4mins: Crusaders playing with an offside advantage..cross-kick from Mo'unga but Bridge can't collect..penalty in front for the hosts.
3mins: Conditions are pretty awful on ground..messy start to the game..a lot of kicking..Bryn Hall with a box kick..lovely job…Naholo knock it over the line..Crusaders lineout 5m out.
1min: Low kick from Sopoaga is knocked-on by the Crusaders – great tactic…Highlanders collect and Sopoaga with another kick through..Dagg cleans up and clears well.
Kick-off: Angus Gardner says let's play and it will be Lima Sopoaga to get the game underway.
7.35PM: Sam Whitelock leads out the Crusaders.
7.34PM: Ben Smith leads out the visitors.
7.32PM: Looks to be a fair chunk of surface water on the ground..this could get very messy very quickly.
7.31PM: Highlanders only made it to Christchurch at 1pm today – not a great build up for them.
7.29PM: There is a bit of concern around whether fans from the rural parts of Canterbury would be able to get to the venue for tonight's game....ground looking about three-quarters full at this stage
7.26PM: Rain is pretty steady at the ground – at least the Highlanders made it to Christchurch after their travel issues yesterday afternoon.
Kia ora and welcome to live updates of the Crusaders hosting the Highlanders at AMI Stadium in Christchurch.
We bring you live streaming written commentary, video highlights (be sure to refresh your browser) and all the action. VIDEO will be available as soon as the final whistle goes.
Commentary will start from around 7:20 pm (NZT).
Lineups
Crusaders
1. Joe Moody, 2. Codie Taylor, 3. Owen Franks, 4. Scott Barrett, 5. Sam Whitelock (c), 6. Jordan Taufua, 7. Matt Todd, 8. Kieran Read, 9. Bryn Hall, 10. Richie Mo’unga, 11. Seta Tamanivalu, 12. Ryan Crotty, 13. Jack Goodhue, 14. Israel Dagg, 15. David Havili
Reserves : 16. Ben Funnell, 17. Wyatt Crockett, 18. Michael Alaalatoa, 19. Luke Romano, 20. Pete Samu, 21. Mitchell Drummond, 22. Mitchell Hunt, 23. George Bridge
Highlanders
1. Daniel Lienert-Brown, 2. Liam Coltman, 3. Siate Tokolahi, 4. Jackson Hemopo, 5.Tom Franklin, 6. Liam Squire, 7. James Lentjes, 8. Luke Whitelock, 9. Aaron Smith, 10. Lima Sopoaga, 11. Richard Buckman, 12. Rob Thompson, 13. Malakai Fekitoa, 14. Waisake Naholo, 15. Ben Smith (c)
Reserves: 16. Ash Dixon (cc), 17. Aki Seiuli, 18 Siosuia Halanukonuka, 19. Alex Ainley, 20. Gareth Evans, 21. Elliot Dixon, 22. Kayne Hammington, 23. Marty Banks
Match facts and stats
Referee: Angus Gardner
Assistants: Ben O'Keeffe and Mike Fraser
TMO: Glenn Newman
Crusaders have won eight of the last ten meetings between these sides.
This will be the first time these teams have met in the Finals since a 34-23 win for the Crusaders in the 2002 semi-finals.
Waisake Naholo has scored eight tries in his last four games against the Crusaders, bagging a brace in each of those fixtures.
The Highlanders won the last time they faced Crusaders away from home but they’ve never won consecutive away games against them.
The Crusaders (92%) boast the best lineout success rate of any team so far this season, and are the only team in the campaign to lose fewer than one lineout per game on average.
Each of the last five games between the two have been decided by margins of eight points or fewer.
Past meetings
Head to head: Played 31, Crusaders 21, Highlanders 10, draws 0
In Christchurch: Played 16, Crusaders 12, Highlanders 4, draws 0
Last time played: Crusaders 25 def Highlanders 22, June 3, 2017
Head-to-head: Crusaders - $1.35 Highlanders - $3.15
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