1
Ten the magic number for Crusaders after annihilation of Bulls
By Harry West
Crusaders' scintillating Super Rugby form continued as they made it 10 wins from as many matches to start the season with Saturday's 62-24 hammering of Bulls.
The dominant New Zealand outfit have now scored at least 40 points in each of their past six outings, and this latest romp sets them up perfectly for a mouth-watering clash at home to Hurricanes next weekend.
Crusaders made a typically fast start at Loftus Versfeld Stadium and were 14-0 up thanks to Pete Samu and Tim Bateman.
Further first-half tries from Scott Barrett and Seta Tamanivalu - either side of Jack Goodhue's first Super Rugby score - had Crusaders in complete control, 31-3 to the good at the interval.
And the second period followed much the same pattern as the first, David Havili and Richie Mo'unga next to cross the whitewash before Goodhue went over for his second.
The final half an hour saw the match become ever more stretched, Bulls showing some signs of fight with Jesse Kriel, Jamba Ulengo and Jan Serfontein taking advantage of the extra space on offer, but Bulls' defence was similarly ragged with Andrew Makalio and Mitchell Hunt making it 10 tries to go with the Crusaders' 10th successive win.
Meanwhile, Curwin Bosch contributed 20 points as Sharks ran out comfortable 37-12 winners over Western Force.
Watch every game of Super Rugby streaming live on rugbypass.com, home of the best online rugby coverage including news, highlights, previews & reviews, live scores, and more!
Trending on RugbyPass
2
David Campese names his Springbok world player of the year winner
3
Let's be real about these All Blacks
4
Why World Cup winner doesn’t blame All Black for leaving New Zealand
5
Latest Comments
It certainly needs to be cherished. Despite Nick (and you) highlighting their usefulness for teams like Australia (and obviously those in France they find form with) I (mention it general in those articles) say that I fear the game is just not setup in Aus and NZ to appreciate nor maximise their strengths. The French game should continue to be the destination of the biggest and most gifted athletes but it might improve elsewhere too.
I just have an idea it needs a whole team focus to make work. I also have an idea what the opposite applies with players in general. I feel like French backs and halves can be very small and quick, were as here everyone is made to fit in a model physique. Louis was some 10 and 20 kg smaller that his opposition and we just do not have that time of player in our game anymore. I'm dying out for a fast wing to appear on the All Blacks radar.
But I, and my thoughts on body size in particular, could be part of the same indoctrination that goes on with player physiques by the establishment in my parts (country).
Go to commentsHis best years were 2018 and he wasn't good enough to win the World Cup in 2023! (Although he was voted as the best player in the world in 2023)
Go to comments