Crusaders 15

Blues 3

The Crusaders have edged ahead in the race for home advantage in the playoffs and on tonight’s evidence no opponent will anticipate a trip to Christchurch.

The defending champions produced a commanding performance to leapfrog the Blues on the Super Rugby standings, their dominance of this crunch clash far greater than the final margin.

Only a heroic defensive effort from Leon MacDonald’s men prevented the Crusaders’ level of control from being better reflected on the scoreboard. But they were, as so many visitors before them, gradually ground down.

The Blues did manage to triumph on their last trip to Christchurch — their first victory in the city in 18 years — but a repeat never looked likely tonight.

A red card to Dalton Papali’i hardly helped their cause, as a high shot on Richie Mo’unga ending the skipper’s evening shortly after the break, but the Blues were rarely allowed to threaten even with their full complement.

“The game was won on our defence,” captain Scott Barrett told Sky Sport. “We were well aware of what the Blues wanted to do tonight, and we were up to the challenge.

“To hold them to three points was a huge testament. At times it was probably a bit ugly, and we didn’t fire too many shots, but we closed down their game and a lot of their firepower didn’t get into it.”

It marked only the third time the Blues had been limited to three points and sent out a warning that a seventh title in as many years was very much a possibility for Scott Robertson’s side.

In a match of few opportunities, the Crusaders took two and that proved more than enough, with a brutal opening half suggesting scoring would be at a premium.

“They were pretty staunch in defence,” Barrett said. “But we just had to keep reaffirming what we’d been doing and stay patient, and we’d eventually get points.”

It took half an hour for that to materialise. The majority of the first half was played in Blues territory, a huge chunk of it inside the 22 and a good portion on the tryline — yet the hosts went over only once.

For all their possession the Crusaders were undone by untimely errors, but to credit poor handling for their failure to find a way through would have been doing a serious disservice to their opponents.

The Blues defence was immense, particularly in a frantic opening 15 minutes. Forced to make 70 tackles as the Crusaders enjoyed 90 per cent of the ball, those tackles were made with a thunderous intensity and exemplary timing.

On several occasions the Blues would not merely defend their line but drive back their opponents, with their speed to meet the ball carrier leaving the Crusaders with more questions than answers.

The visitors also thrived at the breakdown and won a succession of vital turnovers, though in the rare instances they had their hands on the ball they were guilty of inviting pressure with an errant kicking game.

It took 17 minutes until the Blues breached the opposition half but Beauden Barrett and Zarn Sullivan were both errant in decision-making and execution, booting away too much ball.

It meant there was rarely a chance to rest and the physicality at the collision was bruising, with the Crusaders losing prop Joe Moody inside 10 minutes and Blues lock Sam Darry soon following with a suspected broken arm.

It added up to a match in which scoring would be scarce but the Crusaders turned down points on a few occasions to lean on the lineout that last week dismantled the Force.

Their maul wasn’t as prominent tonight but on the half-hour it finally helped to produce the breakthrough. Although the drive became disjointed, the Blues defence was at last stretched, and a strong carry from a standout Codie Taylor allowed Quinten Strange to break the deadlock.

It took only three minutes, in contrast, for the Crusaders to unlock the defence after the break, with a slick interchange of passes finished in style by Leicester Fainga’anuku.

To further sour MacDonald’s mood, Papali’i saw yellow for making contact with Mo’unga’s head, and the skipper’s card was summarily upgraded to red.

The Blues’ discipline in general was too often deficient early in the second spell, and unlike in the first half, they began falling off tackles with fatigue surely a factor.

It allowed the Crusaders to largely control proceedings, protecting their lead though effective phase play while making a 12-point advantage seem much more significant.

Now it was the hosts’ defence that snuffed out any threats, though they were faced with fewer than what the Blues had encountered earlier. A bit of brilliance from Barrett represented the visitors’ only real chance as time ticked away, denied by the bounce with the line in sight as his side were once again denied in the Garden City.

Crusaders 15 (Quinten Strange, Leicester Fainga’anuku tries; Richie Mo’unga con, pen)

Blues 3 (Beauden Barrett pen)

Halftime: 10-3