Crusaders Vs Brumbies

Join us at 7pm, as the newly appointed All Blacks coach tries to steer his team home over the top Aussies.

The reigning champions hosting an unbeaten Brumbies is a mouth-watering prospect, the two clashed in an arm wrestle in Christchurch.

His first touch of the game was a steaming run in midfield, he eventually knocked it on but it’s always a pleasure to see a front-rower in full flight. He has a tendency to have some quieter periods in the middle of games but shows up for the big moments. The wind was a challenge for any player under the high ball tonight and Burke’s performance in that area was a mixed bag as a result. Chewed through metres with every carry and crossed for his second by beating a handful of Brumbies players off the back of another lineout move. Handed the Brumbies their first points of the game when he was called for not rolling in the opening two minutes. Proved over-eager with a couple of touches, but will no doubt learn to have a better feel for when to chance his arm and when to play it safe as he gets more minutes with Whitelock out. A couple of dynamic touches showed the big man’s skillset, running at a good pace and delivering a floating pass out wide to Patafilo who put the kick in for Ennor’s try. The Crusaders’ scrum was dominant and Williams is a hard man to move in the rolling maul. While Barrett is putting in well-balanced performances, Whitelock’s knack for making plays in big moments is a huge loss and one the captain will be challenged to make up for. Taylor’s X-factor hasn’t been so present in recent weeks but his all-around game and set piece work is still a very strong contribution for his side. Moody was back to his old tricks in this game, winning scrums on the opponent’s feed and applying pressure with every injection. A talking point pre-game was the rolling maul, as the Crusaders have a remarkable record of 6 years without letting in a rolling maul try while the Brumbies own one of the most lethal strike rates off those lineout plays in the competition.