The Crusaders have made it seven successive Super Rugby wins with a dominant 40-14 victory over fellow high-flyers the Brumbies in Canberra.
The match was billed as a clash of the two best sides in the competition, with both teams going into the game off the back of impressive winning runs -- but the Brumbies proved to be no match for the Crusaders despite being in front of their own fans.
The Crusaders started the brighter of the two sides after a Tomas Cubelli kick struck Brumbies teammate Scott Sio, effectively gifting the New Zealand side a scrum inside the 22.
Nemani Nadolo was at first receiver off the back of the scrum, and a well-timed pass from skipper Kieran Read put him in under the posts to collect the first points of the match.
However the Brumbies bounced back immediately -- the Australian side getting the ball out of the ruck quickly after Tevita Kuridrani went close, and Robbie Coleman dotted down in the corner for his first try of the season.
From there, though, it was all about the team from Canterbury -- Matt Todd on hand to steal the ball in a tackle on the halfway line and play it to Jone Macilai, who ran in the Crusaders' second try of the game.
Israel Dagg then made it three after some brilliant offloading from his teammates, Nadolo somehow fending off his challenger and playing a basketball-style pass to the fullback to run in the try uncontested.
Soon after, the Crusaders notched their fourth, Codie Taylor capitalising to score after a dominant rolling maul with Richie Mo'unga adding the extras to make it 26-7 to the away side going into halftime.
The Brumbies came out looking much better in the second half, and winger Joe Tomane barged over to narrow the gap to 12 points in the 46th minute – but their momentum didn't last long.
Taylor made it two for the night after 21-year-old speedster David Havili made a spectacular pick-up from his own kick to put the Crusaders back on the path to victory.
Debutant Marty Mackenzie took advantage of some tired defence to slip through a gaping hole and score under the posts to make it 40-14 and cap off an impressive win over Australia's best Super Rugby prospect.
Newshub.