The Sunwolves were always going to struggle in their first outing in New Zealand.
But they made a rod for their own backs by continuously kicking the ball away to the eager Crusaders' counter-attack. Granted, the AMI Stadium turf was slippery after all the rain, but there had to be more thought behind the tactic, especially as the likes of David Havili and Seta Tamanivalu proved adept under the high ball. It cannot have been part of coach Filo Tiatia's master plan, and certainly not when lagging in the field position and possession stats.
Crusaders loosehead prop Wyatt Crockett celebrated his competition record 176th game in style, just doing his core roles effectively and accurately. He had his opposite Takura Asahara in trouble in the scrums. There is every show that Crockett will be the first to raise 200 Super games, as he has another year to run (2018) with the Crusaders. His good mate Andy Ellis was on hand, keen to share a post-match beer. Crockett was subbed after 48 minutes, job done, and was duly named man of the match.
Tamanivalu looked good on the right wing until he was binned for a dangerous tackle on an airborne Sunwolves fullback Kotaro Matsushima. Tamanivalu never returned to the fray but his nephew Manasa Mataele stole the show with a first half hat-trick, in the space of 10 minutes, popping up regularly on either side of the field. Some of the Crusaders' short passing was sweetly executed, though none better than Pete Samu's offload from the grass for Mataele's first try.
