Crusaders 18
Maybe now it is time to stop wondering when the Highlanders are going to capitulate. If fatigue is going to catch them, it will need to be quick. This crew are showing no signs of regressing as the Crusaders can testify.
The Highlanders were just too good for them last
night. Too much energy, too much passion and they were wonderfully committed at the collision.
Their defence swarmed all over the Crusaders. Didn't give them any room to play. Didn't relent. The counter-rucking was even more of a feature.
The Crusaders threw everything into the final 20. They kept coming and the Highlanders kept tackling. Not only that, but they had numbers over the ball in the blink of an eye. They would rush over the top, possession suddenly theirs and the Crusaders were left cursing.
As defensive commitment goes, this was as good as it gets. But the Highlanders did more than tackle. In the first half they were full of good ideas, used the space and stretched the Crusaders.
They looked the better team all the way and particularly so after the Crusaders lost both captain Andy Ellis and Brad Thorn. Without the experience and leadership of those two, the Crusaders struggled.
They tried to play too wide too early and it was only in the final quarter that they kept the ball closer to the ruck, played more directly and caused more problems.
There were Highlanders heroes everywhere. Nasi Manu didn't stop running and Robbie Robinson had his best game yet.
Jarrad Hoeata made his presence felt on the blindside. Having played lock for most of the campaign so far, the Taranaki utility did what hybrid forwards can do - slipping effortlessly into the harder role of being a loose forward.
The big men who fancy that they can cover both lock and blindside can just about manage to get away with it, but few are comfortable getting down to the ball on the floor and staying strong over the ball.
Hoeata managed to do a bit of that but his real enterprise was in his defensive chores - the grunt of hitting bodies both when he had the ball and when he didn't.
It rattled the Crusaders and, after both Ellis and Thorn had been forced off, that physicality was at the core of the Highlanders' dominance.
The Crusaders, for a period before half-time, were running laterally, trying to pass and pass to find space when they needed someone to take control, keep the ball tight to the ruck and confront the Highlanders' direct defence with an equally aggressive response.
If Thorn had been on the field, that most likely would have happened. He wasn't and the Crusaders, for the first time this year, looked unsure.
There was more evidence of that uncertainty when James Paterson scored the Highlanders' second try.
Aaron Smith chose to run down a tiny blindside and feed Paterson who should have been bundled into touch, no questions asked. Instead George Whitelock gave up the chase early and lamely while Israel Dagg covered across only to miss a tackle he really should have made.
Dagg will no doubt be dwelling on that mistake as it otherwise blighted what was an outstanding attacking game. He's been asked by the All Black selectors to work harder, to think more than one phase ahead and there was clear evidence he's absorbed that message. There were a few occasions where after making the linebreak, he featured in the move again.
While that will encourage the selectors, they should also take the time to appreciate the skill and pace that was required to make the original incision. Dagg in full flight is one of the better sights in New Zealand rugby, especially when he has his chum, Zac Guildford flying outside him. Those two combined expertly for the Crusaders' first try and are starting to form a potent combination.
Twice Guildford showed incredible pace to reach kicks ahead and was unlucky not to score on both occasions. On the second, he made up more than 10 metres to beat Tony Brown to the ball.
Crusaders 18 (Z. Guildford, A. Whitelock tries; M. Berquist con, pen, DG) Highlanders 26 (S. Piutau, J. Paterson 2 tries; T. Brown con, 3 pens).
