LIVE COMMENTARY (Be sure to refresh your browser regularly)
Crusaders – 66 Rebels - 0
FULLTIME - And...breathe. That's how you bounce back from a loss. Stay tuned for a full wrap of the action.
80 mins - TRY CRUSADERS - What better way to finish than a try to Ryan Crotty! The All Black marks his 150th in style, bursting on to a short ball off the shoulder of Brett Cameron to power his way over the chalk, then puts the cherry on it by slotting the conversion himself.
78 mins - Kick in behind the defnce is in acres of space and through comes Havili, hacks ahead and Ennor butchers the pickup with the open line and a fourth try beckoning. Not that it really matters.
75 mins - TRY CRUSADERS - Mr 150 himself, Ryan Crotty, is the man behind this one, collecting a ball at haflway, cutting inside three defenders and bolting to the Rebels' 22m, before finding Reece with a long, one-handed spiral pass to send the winger in for his hat-trick.
71 mins - The commentary team deliver a two-minute plea to stop booing Quade Cooper. So, that's where we're at here guys.
69 mins -Rebels with some rare attacking ball but the Crusaders defence is up to the task. Hodge knocks on, 22m Crusaders scrum.
63 mins - Crusaders start to bulldoze towards the 22m, loose pass goes to ground. Rebels scrum at their 22m.
60 mins - TRY CRUSADERS - More Mo'unga magic off the boot, this time a deft chip over the top that sits up perfectly for Havili to storm onto and run under the black dot from 20m out.
57 mins - TRY CRUSADERS - Setpiece perfection as Read finds the sweeping Mo'unga seeping to the blindside, who could've scored himself but slings it to the unmarked Ennor for his hat-trick try. Conversion is over.
56 mins - Todd picks and goes from a metre out, over the line but held up. Crusaders 5m scrum.
55 mins - Taufua fresh off the bench with a rampaging run, peels off 40m. Crusaders lineout 22m out and the onslaught continues.
52 mins - TRY CRUSADERS - Wow, try of the year contender right there. Quick tap from the pnealty in their own 22m, Mo'unga creates the overlap on the right to set Reece clear, he chips ahead and gets a handy bounce, stretches out in the tackle to score. Mo'unga slots the conversion from out wide and this one is getting ugly for the Victorians.
51 mins - Rebels inside the Crusaders 22m after a poor lineout throw.
48 mins - TRY CRUSADERS - Havili frees Reece down the right, Hall in support on the inside to complete the 40m raid right under the crossbar. Ruthless stuff from the champs.
47 mins - Rebels lock Luke Jones canters clear, finds support but the ball is spilled in a fantastic covering tackle by Mo'unga. Crusaders regather, earn a penalty and clear.
45 mins - Aggressive defence forces the knock-on. Crusaders scrum 5m out from their own line.
44 mins - Rebels earn a 5m scrum just to the right of the posts.
42 mins - Reece makes a meal of it, Rebels defenders swarm and earn the turnover. A metre out from the Crusaders line, but they've fumbled it forward. havili looks to bang it downfield but it's off the side of the boot. Rebels lineout from 5m out...
41 mins - Rebels bungle the kick-off reception, under pressure immediately. Clearance partially charged, Rebels throw the lineout and kick deep...
Second half underway...
HALFTIME
40 mins - TRY CRUSADERS - Mo'unga makes it sing off the boot again with yet another pinpoint wipers kick, this time for Ennor who regathers, beats two defenders, then runs it in under the black dot from 40m out. Killer blow right on halftime.
40 mins - 10 phases for little gain, Hall puts up the bomb. Rebels clean up and clear as the hooter sounds. Havili's not done, makes a searing run through midfield.
39 mins - Crusaders penalty, Mo'unga takes them to a 50m lineout.
36 mins - Sloppy ball from the scrum, Crusaders scramble a kick away. Rebels return, Ennor cleans up another kick but the next one sails out on the full. Rebels throw the line-out crooked, scrum Crusaders at their 10m.
35 mins - Crusaders hand in the pass. Rebels will feed the scrum 22m out.
34 mins - Rebels snag a loose pass, to the Crusaders 22m as they work through the phases...
31 mins - TRY CRUSADERS - Lightning ball from the ruck and Havili's quick skip pass finds the men outside, Todd shovels to Ennor who finishes in the corner. Conversion wide.
30 mins - Havili breaks down the left edge after another deft wipers kick from Mo'unga, to the Rebels 22m they go...
28 mins - Crusaders bungle another attacking lineout. Rebels look to work their way out of trouble.
26 mins - Slick blindisde raid from the Crusaders, but the ball is knocked on in the tackle by Crotty 15m out from the Rebels line.
24 mins - Lineout throw sails over the back, and the Rebels pounce on it. Look to exploit some space on the left but the offload is into touch. No advantage, back for a Rebels scrum near their own 22m.
23 mins - Ennor with some room, steps one then gets caught high in a lazy tackle. penalty, and Mo'unga - as he normally does - gains maximum yardage. Crusaders lineout just 5m out.
21 mins - Havili thumps a beauty of a clearance from his own 20m to the Rebels'.
18 mins - Penalty Rebels at the Crusaders 10m. They look to touch, and Hodges has overcooked it massively - dead in-goal. Crusaders scrum at their own 10m.
15 mins - TRY CRUSADERS - Incredible work from Goodhue who leaps over the ruck in a single bound from the turnover, offloads in the tackle to Havili who steps one and goes 70m to score. Conversion saisl over from right in front.
13 mins - Aerial pingpong ensues. Mo'unga decides to tuck i under the arm, beats his man and sets off but the ball inside is intercepted. Rebels to the Crusaders 22m, ball lost...
11 mins - Crotty breaks clear after some brilliant build-up play, finds Read in support who looks to be away under the posts but he drops it absolutely ice cold with a clear line ahead.
9 mins - TRY CRUSADERS - First play off the scrum and Mo'unga slots a pinpoint wipers kick for his winger Reece to run on to and jog behind the posts untouched. they made that look easy. (Crsuaders 7-0)
8 mins - Crotty beats one, draws another and makes a lovely offload. Read out wide, finds Ennor. In goes the grubber and it's well weighted, Goodhue forces the defender back into his in-goal. 5m scrum Crsuaders.
6 mins - Hodge has a crack from 35m out...but the ball sails to the right.
4 mins - Huge scrum from the Rebels and they earn a penalty for their troubles, directly in front of the posts.
2 mins - Reece Hodge freed up on the left edge by a lovely skip pass, chips ahead but it's an easy one for Havili to clean up.
1 min - Read takes the restart and hits it up hard to get us started.
We're underway...
7:33pm - Mr 150 Ryan Crotty comes out along through a guard of honour formed by players from his beloved New Brighton club, and is met by a haka from students of his former high school, Shirley Boys.
Kia ora and welcome to live updates as the Crusaders look to continue their winning run against the Rebels in Christchurch.
We bring you live streaming written commentary, video highlights (be sure to refresh your browser) and all the action.
Commentary will start from 7:30pm (NZT). In the meantime, check out the video above for a preview of tonight's game.
Crusaders: 1-Joe Moody, 2-Andrew Makalio, 3-Michael Alaalatoa, 4-Scott Barrett, 5-Sam Whitelock (C), 6-Whetukamokamo Douglas, 7-Billy Harmon, 8-Kieran Read, 9-Bryn Hall, 10-Richie Mo'unga, 11-Braydon Ennor, 12-Ryan Crotty, 13-Jack Goodhue, 14-Sevu Reece, 15-David Havili
Reserves: 16- Ben Funnell, 17-Tim Perry, 18-George Bower, 19-Luke Romano, 20-Jordan Taufua, 21-Ereatara Enari, 22-Brett Cameron, 23-Ngane Punivai
Betting odds
Crusaders - $1.05 Rebels- $9.50
Pre-match banter:
Jordan delighted to re-sign with Crusaders
By Ben Francis
Crusaders utility back Will Jordan says his decision to re-sign with the two-time defending Super Rugby champions was an easy one.
On Friday, the Crusaders announced Jordan had committed the franchise until the end of the 2022 season.
The announcement ended speculation of a potential move to Highlanders, who were hoping he would replace departing fullback Ben Smith, and the Blues, coached by Leon MacDonald, who worked with Jordan at the Tasman Mako in the Mitre 10 Cup.
Jordan said he had received other offers, but never really considered leaving the Crusaders.
"There were a couple of other offers, which came through and I weighed up, but the decision to re-sign here was simple," said Jordan.
"When the opportunity came to re-sign, I jumped at it, so I'm looking forward to the next three years.
"Hopefully, being in this environment will give me the best chance to grow as a rugby player and a person."
Jordan has been sidelined for the last month with a foot injury, sustained during the 21-21 draw against the Sharks.
The 2017 World Junior Player of the Year nominee said he was hopeful of returning in the playoffs and rediscovering the early-season form that saw him score eight tries in as many games.
"This [injury] was more frustrating, because I've had a crack and got a taste of Super Rugby.
"Injuries are always frustrating, but it's part of the game - I'm just lucky I didn't need any surgery.
"I'm trying to rehab as much as I can, and I'm back training now. Hopefully, I'll be available for the playoffs."
As well as Jordan, the Crusaders have also secured hooker Andrew Makalio through to 2021.
They face the Rebels in their final regular-season match on Saturday. They require just one competition point to secure top spot in the Super Rugby standings and home advantage throughout the playoffs.
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