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Cape Town - The Crusaders have lost for the first time in this Super Rugby season after they fell to the defending champions, the Hurricanes at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington.
As it happened: Hurricanes v Crusaders
The Hurricanes won 31-22 after trailing 7-12 at half-time.
The Crusaders went into the fixture hot favourites but paid the price for poor discipline as the defending champions ran in four tries to two.
The seven-times champion team from Christchurch attacked well but hampered their chances with constant disciplinary lapses.
The
result gives Lions the chance to overtake the
Crusaders at the top of the table if they beat the Sharks in
Durban. (Kick-off is at 17:15 SA time).
It also means the Hurricanes will play the Brumbies next week, rather than facing a gruelling trip to South Africa against the Stormers.
The Crusaders made a perfect start with a try to Seta Tamanivalu in the third minute after a quick tap penalty caught the Hurricanes defence off guard.
He had his second 10 minutes later when Kieran Read passed to him on the wing, catching the ball awkwardly but evading a tackler to dive into the corner.
The
Hurricanes enjoyed long periods of possession and Ngani Laumape
eventually battered his way though the Crusaders' line to set up a try
for Jordie Barrett.
They went into the break trailing 12-7 but gained the lead four minutes after the restart through a Julian Savea try.
Flyhalf Otere Black sent a high cross-field kick to the sideline and Savea batted it down to keep it on play then scooped it from the field and crossed for the five-pointer.
Read set up the Crusaders second try when his pass found Israel Dagg, who sidestepped Jordie Barrett.
The Hurricanes regained the lead with tries to Wes Goosen and Vaea Fifita, making it 28-22 to the home side with 10 minute to go before a Jordie Barrett penalty sealed the win.
Scorers:
Hurricanes
Tries: Jordie Barrett, Julian Savea, Wes Goosen, Vaea Fifita
Conversions: Jordie Barrett (3), Fifita
Penalty: Jordie Barrett
Crusaders
Tries: Seta Tamanivalu (2), Israel Dagg
Conversions: Richie Mo''unga (2)
Penalty: Mo''unga
Teams:
Hurricanes
15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Vince Aso, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara (captain), 8 Brad Shields, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Mark Abbott, 3 Jeff Toomaga-Allen, 2 Ricky Riccitelli, 1 Ben May.
Substitutes: 16 James O'Reilly, 17 Chris Eves, 18 Loni Uhila, 19 Reed Prinsep, 20 Callum Gibbins, 21 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22Wes Goosen, 23 Cory Jane
Crusaders
15 Israel Dagg, 14 Seta Tamanivalu, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 David Havili, 11 George Bridge, 10 Richie Mo'unga, 9 Bryn Hall, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Matt Todd (captain), 6 Jordan Taufua, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Michael Alaalatoa, 2 Ben Funnell, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Substitutes: 16 Andrew Makalio, 17 Tim Perry, 18 Oliver Jager, 19 Sam Whitelock, 20 Jed Brown, 21 Mitchell Drummond, 22 Mitchell Hunt, 23 Sean Wainui
