Final Score: Crusaders 32 Highlanders 22
Crusaders 32 (Mo'unga, Ennor, Bridge x2 tries, Mo'unga 2pen, 3con) bt
Highlanders 22 (Frizell, Nareki, Collins tries, Ioane (1pen, 2con)
Fulltime: That's a wrap and what a stunning final 20 minutes from the Crusaders. Trailing 22-13, they scored twio tries in two minutes and the game swung their way. They have locked to the title with a week to play.
80mins - The Highlanders continue to attack through Ioane, who has been super today, but the ball is lost forward and booted into touch by Douglas to end the game.
78mins - Ruck penalty for the Crusaders and Cameron, who is on for Mo'unga fionds touch on halfway.
77mins - The Crusaders repel the Highlanders attack .... Mo'unga finds touch just short of halfway.
74mins - Try Crusaders: Braydon Ennor - The drive is defended superbly by the Highlanders but Drummond swings the ball to Mu'unga who finds Ennor on the run and he dots down. Mo'unga converts for a 10 point lead. CRU 32-22
73mins - Maul penalty now for the Crusaders and it'll be another lineout. This time 5m.
71mins - Reece and Jordan break out and the Crusaders win a penalty. Lineout 10m for the Crusaders.
70mins - Highlanders attacking with intent again as Smith breaks through the ruck, but Parete knocks the ball on again.
68mins - Highlanders building again but Parete coughs up the ball .... scrum Crusaders just outside their own 22.
67mins - Ioane creates something out of nothing with some slick footwork, he finds Aaron Smith who toes ahead and if the ball holds up he will score bout he loses the race by a bounce. 22 dropout.
66mins - Play is back underway after the long delay for the Yager injury.
65mins - Yager is being assisted off the field. He was knocked out cold by a shoulder charge from Tomkinson.
63mins - Try Crusaders: George Bridge - It was on the cards. The Crusaders have come to life. Romano busts through the middle and finds Mo'unga who puts Jordan in space and he repeats the dose and drwas the fullback for Bridge to score. TMO looking at foul play by Tomkinson on Oli Yager. Yellow card for Sio Tomkinson. Mo'unga nails the extras and you get the feeling the Highlanders challenge is over. CRU 25-22
61mins - Try Crusaders: George Bridge - Here they come. To much pressure and it's Jordan who finds space from a Mo'unga offload and Jordan draws the fullback and Bridge runs around to score. Mo'unga converts. HIG 22-20
60mins - Lineout is fluffed and the Highlanders clear to their 10m line.
58mins - Crusaders rolling now. Another penalty - this time in Highlanders territory and it's a lineout 5m.
57mins - Penalty for the Crusaders with the Highlanders hot on attack.
53mins - Try Highlanders: Michael Collins - Brilliant. Whitelock coughs the ball up inside his 22 and the Highlanders are rocking. Christie gives a way a silly advantage and should get 10 in the bin but he won't bacause Collins crashes over to score on the next phase. Lucky bot Tom Christie. Ioane can't convert. HIG 22-13
51mins - 13 phases for the Crusaders on attack, but the Highlanders defence is superb. Parkinson wins yet another breakdown penalty .... that's eight today by my count. The Crusaders are getting beat up at the ruck today. Highlanders will have the lineout just short of halfway.
49mins - Great tackle from Tomkinson as he crushes Goodhue in a one on one tackle and Lenert-Brown wins the penalty at the breakdown.
48mins - Crusaders lineout just short of the 22.
45mins - OMG! Josh McKay take a bow. Mo'unga creates magic with a ridiculous midfield offload and Bryn Hall is scoring for all money next to the posts, but McKay comes from nowhere and knocks the ball out of his hands as he attempts to dot down. Wow! Defensice scrun Highlanders.
44mins - Highlanders go close through Dillon Hunt but he's dragged down short. penalty Crusaders and Mo'unga finds touch just short of halfway.
41mins - Early penalty for the Crusaders. Christie pinged for holding on at the tackle....Highlanders lineout on halfway.
Second-half: Mo'unga gets play back underway .... the Crusaders win this half by five-points or better and they win the title with a week to play.
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Half-time
40mins - Penalty goal Crusaders: Mo'unga does throw at over and that's the end of a pulsating haf of rugby. HIG 17-13
39mins - Crusaders break through Goodhue, who finds Bridge, but great work from McKay who gets back on cover. Penalty Crusaders for offside play and Mo'unga should throw this over.
37mins - Crusaders win the turnover this time .... Taylor gets it right...Mo'unga kicks first phase and finds touch just short of the Highlanders 22.
36mins - Another penalty against the Crusaders. Taylor pinged for being off his feet. Hunt finds touch on the Crusaders 10m line.
35mins - Another turnover for the Highlanders. Dixon wins a penalty at the ruck and Hunt's kick finds touch on their own 10m line.
34mins - Turnover won by Frizell and Hunt kicks well .... finds touch 5m out. Reece throws quickly and the Crusaders are marching back up field. Penalty Crusaders just short of halfway against Parkinson at the ruck. Lineout Crusaders midway halfway and 22.
32mins - Good period of play from the Highlanders, but the Crusaders defence holds firm. Frizell pinged for diving in off his feet and the Crusaders will launch an attack from the 22.
30mins - Smith creates some magic for the Highlanders of an offload from Parkinson ... chip and chase by the No.9 but Sevu Resses gets back for the Crusaders. 22 dropout.
28mins - Penalty goal Crusaders: Mo'unga makes no mistake from in front. HIG 17-10
27mins - Crusaders have an attacking penalty. Great run from Taylor again gets his side going and Dixon is ruled to have been off his feet. Poor call from the referee in my opinion. Interesting the that Taylor opts for the easy three-points. The Crusaders usually go for the seven, but big stakes today.
23mins - Try Highlanders: Jona Nareki - Huge moment. Nareki takes a gamble with a three man Crusaders overlap and Whitelock's tip pass is caught by the Highlanders winger and he races away 70 metres to score with Reece chasing him down. Ioane nails it from the sideline. HIG 17-7.
22mins - Penalty goal Highlanders: Ioane makes no mistake this time. HIG 10-7
20mins - Will Jordan can't take a high ball and the Highlanders swing onto attack again. Amother penalty - this time it's Sanders the culprit for being offside. He was living in the Highlanders backline. Ioane will have a shot from a handy spot.
18mins - Crusaders give up their fourth breakdown penalty. This time in kicking position and Ioane will have a shot from the 10m line. The Highlanders are causing a few headaches for a slightly dodgy Crusaders defence today....Nareki finding space in the leadup that time. Kick just shaves the upright and we stay at 7-7.
17mins - Lineout for the Crusaders on halfway following a wayward kick from Smith.
15mins - Taylor busts throught the middle and is away .... he finds Bridge who finds Goodhue but the cover is there. Knocked forward by Christie and the Highlanders escape.
13mins - Try Crusaders: Richie Mo'unga - Brilliant! Hall sights a gap down the right hand side and his skip pass finds a flying Reece who fires back inside to Hall who finds Bridge on the run, the cover is there so Bridge offloads to Mo'unga who scores under the posts. Converted. 7-7
12mins - Multiple scrum resets. Eventually Smith scoots down the blindside .... kicks and finds touch on the Crusaders 10m line.
9mins - Lineout penalty for the Highlanders. Hunt finds touch just short of halfway. Whitelock gets up for the Crusaders on the steel, but loses the ball forward.
8mins - Heads up play from Mo'unga. Hall box kicks and Moody wins it back for the Crusaders. Mo'unga kicks and finds touch 5m from the Highlanders line.
6mins - So close for the Highlanders! Whetton is tackled inches from the line by Christie who gets up and wins the turnover penalty. Sensational play from the flanker and the Crusaders have a lineout just outside their own 22.
4mins - Another turnover and the Highlanders rumble down the park. 11 phases and Christie is pinged for entering from the side and Hunt finds touch midway 22 and halfway.
1min - Try Highlanders: Shannon Frizell - What a start! Turnover won on second phase and Aaron Smith scoots away down the blindside and finds McKay who is tackled by the cover. Quick ball and Smith finds a charging Frizell who powers through a couple tackles to score. Converted by Ioane. HIGH 7-0
Kick-off - Paul Williams says "let's play" and in perfect conditions Mitch Hunt gets the game underway.
3:34pm - And Ash Dixon leads out the Highlanders who haven't won in Christchurch for five years.
3:33pm - Codie Taylor leads out the Crusaders to a sea of red and black flags .... there's a little patch of blue but not much else.
3:32pm - Teams are as advertised so no late changes.
3:21pm - Superb conditions in Christchurch today .... and a packed house to boot. Fun times ahead.
Good afternoon folks and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the Super Rugby Aoteraoa clash between the Crusaders and the Highlanders from OrangeTheory Stadium in Christchurch.
The table-topping Crusaders can wrap up the inaugural title with a victory today, but a Highlanders win would open the door wide open for the Blues and Hurricanes next week if they can pull off the big upset.
The Crusaders are near full strength, welcoming back Braydon Ennor, Joe Moody and Whetu Douglas.
The Highlanders are searching for their third win of the campaign, but they have been super competitive most weeks with a couple of narrow losses.
TAB odds: Crusaders $1.10, Highlanders $6.20
Crusaders: 1-Joe Moody, 2-Codie Taylor (c), 3-Michael Alaalatoa, 4-Sam Whitelock, 5-Quinten Strange, 6-Tom Sanders, 7-Tom Christie, 8-Whetukamokamo Douglas,9-Bryn Hall, 10-Richie Mo'unga, 11-George Bridge, 12-Jack Goodhue, 13-Braydon Ennor, 14-Sevu Reece, 15-Will Jordan
Reserves: 16-Andrew Makalio, 17-George Bower, 18-Oliver Jager, 19-Luke Romano, 20-Sione Havili, 21-Mitchell Drummond, 22-Brett Cameron, 23-Leicester Fainga'anuku
Highlanders: 1-Ayden Johnstone, 2-Ash Dixon (cc), 3-Jeff Thwaites, 4-Pari Pari Parkinson, 5-Jack Whetton, 6-Shannon Frizell, 7-Dillon Hunt, 8-Marino Mikaele Tu’u, 9-Aaron Smith (cc), 10-Josh Ioane, 11-Jona Nareki, 12-Patelesio Tomkinson, 13-Michael Collins, 14-Josh McKay, 15-Mitch Hunt
Reserves: 16-Liam Coltman, 17-Ethan De Groot, 18-Siate Tokolahi, 19-Manaaki Selby-Rickit, 20-Jesse Parete, 21-Folau Fakatava, 22-Ngatungane Punivai, 23-Teariki Ben-Nicholas
Pre-match banter
Players call for Super Rugby Aotearoa review
Some of our top All Blacks have called for NZ Rugby to seriously review Super Rugby Aotearoa, before committing to it for another year.
This week, Newshub has revealed the option is firmly on the table for 2021, as the COVID-19 crisis worsens across the ditch, raising doubts over a potential trans-Tasman competition.
The revamped post-lockdown format is widely seen as the closest thing to test-match rugby, but the injury toll has been brutal.
For that reason, those involved feel changes need to be made, if the competition is rolled out again next year.
"I'd like to see more teams added or a different schedule put out there," says Hurricanes co-captain TJ Perenara.
"I really enjoy the competition itself, I just don't think the way it's structured at the moment is sustainable."
Crusaders skipper Codie Taylor agrees, but wants more opponents than just the Kiwi derbies.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss playing Australian or South African teams, just because it adds different challenges," he says.
They likely won't face their rivals from across the ditch anytime soon.
With the Australian coronavirus situation getting worse by the day, a second year of Super Rugby Aotearoa is more likely, with a potential cross-border playoff format also touted.
Wallabies and former Chiefs coach Dave Rennie's clear on his preferred concept.
"I think a trans-Tasman competition is important and important for both countries," he says. "It's a great opportunity for our young kids to get involved in professional footy and get that experience."
Current Chiefs coach Warren Gatland has fallen foul of several referee's blunders this season and his philosophy is a little more to the point.
"Maybe a captain's challenges on the field... I think that would be a positive," he chuckles.
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But the general feeling among franchises is that they have the foundations to make the format work again.
"If it is Aotearoa, then we can make it even better, I believe," says Crusaders coach Scott Robertson.
"Going forward, I think there will be adjustments to the competition," says Perenara.
As Australia's covid crisis goes from bad to worse, it's fast becoming the only option.
