CAPE TOWN, April 22 (ANA) – The Stormers were blown away by a first-half five-try rout and they eventually suffered a 57-24 humiliation at the hands of the Crusaders at the AMI Stadium, Christchurch, on Saturday.
It was a record winning margin for the seven-time Super Rugby champions over the Stormers who were steamrolled by the unstoppable Crusaders juggernaut for most of the first half when they ran up a 5-0 try count.
In the second half, the team shared the try count 3-all but by that time the Crusaders had eased up on their intensity levels, something that their captain Sam Whitelock harped on in his post-match commentary.
At the outset, the Stormers took the game by the scruff of the neck and the Crusaders were pinned down in their own half in the opening 10 minutes. Despite their overwhelming possession advantage, the Stormers could not find a way through the Crusaders defence and it was left to flyhalf Robert du Preez salvage three points via a ninth-minute penalty (3-0).
Once the Crusaders managed to reverse the flow of play, no one was prepared for what happened in the next 28 minutes. During this passage of play, the match was clearly decided as a contest as the Stormers’ shaky defence conceded five answered tries, four of which were converted by flyhalf Richie Mo’unga.
One humiliation after the other followed for the Stormers as the Crusaders scored at a rate of a try every five minutes.
Leftwing Chris Bridge started the rout with a hattrick of tries and eighthman Kieran Read followed suit with a brace before New Zealand referee Paul Williams called an end to the half by which time the Crusaders ran up a bonus-point 36-3 lead.
The second-half started on a fine note for the hapless Stormers when rightwing Cheslin Kolbe snatched an interception and ran in from some 50 metres out to score under the posts. Du Preez goaled the conversion (36-10).
Ten minutes later, it was the turn of the leftwing Bjorn Basson to reduce the lead when shoddy defence by the Crusaders allowed him to run in near the corner flag. Du Preez was again on target with the conversion (36-17).
The Crusaders shook off the two-try setback with two tries in the space of three minutes, starting with a Michael Alaalatoa touchdown after a maul from the back of a line-out, five minutes out (43-17).
Peter Samu was next in to bring up the half-century mark after Mo’unga added the conversion (50-17).
A moment of individual brilliance by Kolbe left the Crusaders dumbstruck and in the ensuing play, Frans Malherbe scored. Du Preez’s conversion made for a 50-24 scoreline in the 67th minute.
Three minutes from the end, Manasa Mataele intercepted close to his own tryline and ran in unchallenged for the Crusaders’ eighth try in the match. Mitch Hunt added the conversion to round off the score in the match (57-24).
Scorers: Crusaders 57 (36): Tries: George Bridge (3), Kieran Read (2), Michael Alaalatoa, Peter Samu, Manasa Mataele. Conversions: Richie Mo’unga (6), Mitch Hunt. Penalty: Mo’unga
Stormers 24 (3): Tries: Cheslin Kolbe, Bjorn Basson, Frans Malherbe. Conversions: Robert du Preez (3). Penalty: Robert du Preez – African News Agency (ANA)
