Crusaders 40 (Christie x2, Jordanx2, Reece tries, Mo'unga 3con, 3pens) beat Highlanders 20 (Frizell, Punivai tries, Hunt 2con, 2pens) HT 14-17
Fulltime - All done and dusted. The Crusaders just too good in the last 20 minutes. The game changed in the 56th minute whenb Nareki should have passed the ball with two outside, The result was just three points from a penalty. The Crusaders scored 19 straight points following that to wrap the game up.
79mins - Try Crusaders: Will Jordan: This kid is a special player. Nareki and Karoi combine for the Highlanders down the left but the ball is lost ... Goodhue finds Jordan who chips the fullback and regathers to runaway and score. Wow. Mo'unga converts and that's the game. What a game. CRU 40-20
76mins - Try Crusaders: Tom Christie: That's the ball game. Relentless attack from the Crusaders. 13 phases and eventually Christie crashes over in the corner. Mo'unga converts. CRU 33-20
74mins - Mo'unga hooks it! Game on.
73mins - Penalty for the Crusaders on the Highlanders 22. Elliot Dixon pinged for slowing the ball down. Mo'unga will look to wrap the game up here.
71mins - Defensive penalty won by Tu'u with great play at the ruck. Highlanders have defended superbly tonight.
70mins - Good defence leads to a Nareki turnover. Smith box kicks but can only find touch on the 22.
69mins - Penalty on halfway for the Crusaders. Mo'unga finds touch on the 22.
66mins - Great work from Jack Whetton. He comes through the middle of the maul and shuts down the Crusaders attack. Defensive scrum for the Highlanders.
65mins - Scrum penalty for the Crusaders. Mo'unga finds touch on the Highlanders 10m line.
63mins - Scrum on their own 10m line for the Crusaders.
60mins - Try Crusaders: Sevu Reece - He's only been on for a couple minutes. Crusaders just clinical when it matters. Good ball retention and eventually Drummond swings a pass to Reece who dives over in the corner. CRU 26-20
58mins - Penalty for the Crusaders just inside halfway - Tu'u with a high tackle on Mo'unga. Lineout on the 22 for the Crusaders.
56mins - Penalty goal Highlanders: Mitch Hunt bangs it over and the Highlanders are within one - but they should be in front. CRU 21-20
54mins - Wow! What a period of play. The Highlanders all over the Crusaders and they should have had a try, but Nareki bombed it with two unmarked outside him. Under advantage though and Hunt will have a shot from in front. Frizell and Dillon Hunt just superb during that attack.
50mins - Try Crusaders: Tom Christie - Luckily for the Highlanders that the Crusaders scored there - Michael Collins would have seen the bin for an early tackle on Havili. Just relentless attack and eventually Christie scores in the corner. Will Jordan is carving up at will..... Mo'unga converts. CRU 21-17
49mins - Nareki loses the ball forward and the Crusaders go on the attack.
48mins - Hunt with a huge touch finder - lineout on the 22 for the Highlanders.
47mins - Magnificent defence from the Highlanders. 13 phases from the relentless Crusaders with Taylor going close - Aaron Smith with the try saver. From 5m out, the Highlanders force the Crusaders back behind the 22, until Smith wins a penalty with a spot tackle and turnover on Will Jordan. Brilliant.
45mins - The Highlanders defend well so Mo'unga kicks - ball rolls over 5m out from the Highlanders line. Smith box kicks from the resulting maul and finds touch on halfway.
43mins - Jack Whetton pinged for entering the ruck from the side and the Crusaders wil have a lineout on halfway.
42mins - Lineout for the Highlanders just outside the Crusaders 22 follwing an early penalty.
Second-half: Mo'unga gets the game back underway.
Halftime - Just a fabulous 40mins of rugby. The Highlanders have been hammered by the referee, but they look great with the limited ball they have had. The Crusaders have been excellent, aside form a few handling errors. Back soon.
40mins - Penalty goal Highlanders: Hunt makes no mistake. HIG 17-14
38mins - Smith sights a gap and almost breaks free but he's dragged down. Under advantage now and play btreaks down. Penalty in front for the Highlanders.
37mins - Finally a penalty for the Highlanders and it looks like a lucky one. Jordan pinged for being off his feet, but he'd already won the turnover. Lineout 20m out for the Highlanders.
36mins - Another penalty for the Crusaders. 8-1 the count now. Lineout for the Crusaders on the Highlanders 22.
34mins - Penalty goal Crusaders: Mo'unga adds the three points to tie us up. 14-14
33mins - Faingaanuku storms through a huge hold in the defence but is brought down just short, Ball comes right but Mo'unga spills the ball forward - under advantage though and Mo'unga will take a shot.
32mins - Penalty on halfway for the Crusaders. Smith pinged for holding on - penalty count now 6-1 to the Crusaders.
30mins - Penalty goal Crusaders: Mo'unga makes no mistake. HIG 14-11
29mins - Great ball retention from the Crusaders and they eventually earn a penalty 20m out and in front. Tu'u pinged for being off his feet. Debatable call that.
25mins - Try Highlanders: Ngani Punivai - Electric rugby! Smith sights a gap off the back of a fumbled Highlanders lineout and he's away.... he offloads to Thompson 5m out from the line. Quick ball and Smith shifts right ... through the hands it goes and Punivai scores in the corner. Converted by Hunt. HIG 14-8
24mins - Mitch Hunt finds touch inside the Crusaders half folowing a lineout infringement from the Crusaders.
23mins - Defensive lineout for the Crusaders. Turnovers galore so far - both teams aggressive at the tackle. Havili's touch finder is a good one to end the period of play.
21mins - Wow! Crusaders go close. Turnover ball and it's quickly shifted to Jordan on the right. He toes ahead for Codie Taylor who almost gets to the ball, but it just beats him over the dead ball line.
19mins - Try Highlanders: Shannon Frizell - Great attack from the Highlanders....quick ball retention. Dillon Hunt, Jona Nareki and Shannon Frizell with big runs. 11th phase and Smith finds Frizell who powers over with four defenders on him. Try is under review. TMO is happy with it. Great period of play from the home side. CRU 8-7
17mins - Scrum just outside the 22 for the Highlanders folloiwng a Havili knock on. They have only had 20 percent of the ball so far.
16mins - Try Crusaders: Will Jordan - Gotta give it to the Highlanders. Their scramble defence was excellent, but eventually the pressure tells as the Crusaders shift to the edge and Havili's final pace is collected by Jordan, who dots down just before being bundled out. Josh Dickson is leaving the field on a stretcher. CRU 8-0
15mins - What attacking play from the Crusaders. Wave after wave. Looks like Jordan has scored in the corner .... it's under review.
13mins - Crusaders scrum mauls the homeside and they win an attacking penalty. Lineout 5m. Overthrown by Taylor and Aaron Smith clears to safety.
12mins - Crusaders atacking with intent as Havilli makes a midfield breal, but they have a mistake or two in them tonight as Faingaanuku loses the ball forward.
10mins - Penalty goal Crusaders: Mo'unga drills it for an early red and black lead. CRU 3-0
8mins - Great defence stifles the Crusaders attack. But they were playing under advantage and Mo'unga will tgake an easy three. 10 phases defended well by the home side.
6mins - Penalty on halfway for the Crusaders - Josh Dickson at fault at the ruck. Mo'unga finds the line 20m out.
5mins - Backline move from the lineout but Will Jordan loses the ball in contact and it'll be a Highlanders scrum 30m inside their half.
4mins - Lineout just inside the Highlanders half for the Crusaders, Lienert-Brown pinged for slowing the ball down at the breakdown.
2mins - Another scrum for the Crusaders. The Highlanders turn the ball over at the first ohase - Smith shifts right, but Rob Thompson's pass floats forward.
Kick-off - Scrum for the Crusaders midway halfway and goaline. Highlanders regain the kiock-off and attack, but Tu'u loses the ball forward at the fourth phase.
7:02pm - Late change. Ethan Blackadder is out with injury meaning a debut for Sione Havilli,
7:01pm - Hello team. Just a few minutes from kick-off. Should be a great clash between two sides playing great rugby at the moment.
Kia ora and welcome to play-by-play coverage, as the Crusaders try to continue their winning run against fellow southerners, the Highlanders, at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
We bring you written commentary, video highlights (be sure to refresh your browser) and all the action.
Commentary will start from around 7pm. In the meantime, check out the video above for a preview of tonight's game.
Betting odds:
Crusaders - $1.22 Highlanders - $3.90
Line-ups:
Pre-match banter
By Gordon Findlater
The first southern derby of Super Rugby Aotearoa is set to raise the temperature in Dunedin this weekend.
The undefeated Crusaders will head into the match as favourites but a good hard look in the mirror has prompted a major turnaround for the Highlanders.
Before COVID-19 stalled the Super Rugby competition, the Highlanders had won just one game from seven matches, so lockdown became the perfect opportunity for some self-reflection.
"We had a good look at ourselves over COVID-19," halfback Aaron Smith tells Newshub. "Had a good look in the mirror with what we we're doing and where we were at as a team."
"We asked them to be a bit more self reliant through the lockdown period," adds coach Aaron Mauger. "I think when they turned up there was just a different feel."
That's seen them defeat the Chiefs and push the Blues all the way at Eden Park. They'll now need to go to an even higher level if they're to cause an upset against their South Island rivals.
"We need to look back at things that made us what we were when we were really successful in my early career here," Smith says. "And that's something we've looked to bring into this Aotearoa comp."
Coach Scott Robertson also acknowledges that the side his champion Crusaders face on Saturday are a different look to the one they defeated in February.
"Early in the season they probably didn't have a few things go their way and they have now.," Robertson says.
"They've got a hard working coaching group and a hard working group of men."
