The Crusaders beat the Bulls 33-14 in Christchurch on Friday to hand the Pretoria-based side their ninth-straight loss in New Zealand. JON CARDINELLI reports.
The Crusaders bounced back from two straight defeats to claim their ninth-consecutive win against a South African opponent in the regular season. On a wet night in Christchurch, the reigning champions were the stronger and smarter side and ultimately were full value for their bonus-point victory.
The Bulls have now lost four on the bounce. They will return from their three-game tour to Australasia with only a single log point to show for their efforts.
They did well to put the All Blacks-laden Crusaders under pressure in the first 10 minutes of the contest in Christchurch. They erred, however, when they turned down several opportunities to shoot for goal in that period. The decision to back their lineout and maul came to naught, as the Crusaders defence was equal to that particular task.
The Crusaders made their own scoring chances count. Two lineout mauls culminated in two tries in the first half. The call to keep the ball close, due to the wet conditions, paid dividends.
Tim Perry was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle in the 26th minute. Up to that point, the Crusaders had conceded multiple penalties in the tackle area.
Codie Taylor broke from the back of a maul to boost his side into a 14-0 lead. Travis Ismaiel gave the visitors some hope when he danced his way through some poor defence four minutes later.
The Crusaders had the final say in the first half, though. A sustained assault on the Bulls’ line culminated in a try for Jack Goodhue. The centre powered through prop Pierre Schoeman and No 8 Tim Agaba for the score. The hosts went to the break with a 21-7 lead.
Perhaps the Bulls were lacking energy as well as belief at the end of an unsuccessful three-match tour. The forwards were bullied at the set pieces and collisions, while the backs made some poor decisions.
Goodhue crashed over for his second try in the 48th minute. The Bulls showed some intent in the period that followed, but were let down by their own inferior physicality and handling errors.
Marco van Staden scored a consolation try for the visitors in the 69th minute. The Crusaders finished strongly, though, with George Bridge swooping on a loose ball and powering through three Bulls defenders.
That effort ensured that the hosts claimed the try-scoring bonus point.
Crusaders – Tries: Scott Barrett, Codie Taylor, Jack Goodhue (2), George Bridge. Conversions: Mitchell Hunt (4).
Bulls – Tries: Travis Ismaiel, Marco van Staden. Conversions: Handré Pollard (2).
Crusaders – 15 David Havili, 14 Manasa Mataele, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 George Bridge, 10 Mitchell Hunt, 9 Mitchell Drummond, 8 Jordan Taufua, 7 Billy Harmon, 6 Heiden Bedwell-Curtis, 5 Sam Whitelock (c), 4 Scott Barrett, 3 Michael Alaalatoa, 2 Codie Taylor 1 Tim Perry.
Subs: 16 Ben Funnell, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Oliver Jager, 19 Quinten Strange, 20 Tom Sanders, 21 Bryn Hall, 22 Brett Cameron, 23 Braydon Ennor.
Bulls – 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Burger Odendaal (c), 11 Divan Rossouw, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Tim Agaba, 7 Hanro Liebenberg, 6 Roelof Smit, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Substitutes: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Frans van Wyk, 19 Hendré Stassen, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Johnny Kötze.
Photo: Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images
