The Crusaders banked just their second win of 2024 but did so in emphatic fashion against the Melbourne Rebels.
Kevin Foote’s side has no answer to a dominant display built off scrum dominance as the Crusaders rolled in six tries to none at Apollo Projects Stadium.
The win lifts the defending champions from bottom of the Super Rugby Pacific ladder (for now) while the Rebels are left with plenty of questions in need of answering.
Here’s what we learnt:
If you came into this game having written off the seven-time defending champions, you’ve got rocks in your head.
Bolstered by returning stars Scott Barrett (more on him later) and buoyed by a 50th Super Rugby cap for Cullen Grace, the Crusaders took their sweet time but were never threatened over 80 excruciating minutes for Rebels fans.
Six tries to none is a spanking, regardless of the Crusaders rusty finishing, and it could’ve been 50-0 if the hosts had taken their first-half chances in the manner they did their second-half opportunities.
A generous top-eight playoff format could see them back in a big way if Rob Penney's side can keep this ball rolling.
Let’s rip the band-aid off – the Rebels scrum was woeful. Pure and simple.
No less than seven scrum penalties were conceded on Friday night with coach Kevin Foote hooking the entire starting front row after just 30 minutes.
Matt Gibbon, Alex Mafi and Sam Talakai looked like they were on roller skates against George Bower and Fletcher Newell up front, conceding four penalties before the half-hour mark.
It settled – marginally – with the introduction of Taniela Tupou, Jordan Uelese and Isaac Kailea but the hosts were still far too strong, piling on further pain to lay the foundation for a massive win.
Scott Barrett won’t ever be the top of an Aussie’s Christmas card list but he’s one hell of a rugby player.
The veteran All Black and regular Crusaders skipper was sublime in his return from injury, pinching three lineouts and wreaking havoc at set-piece time - an area that failed the Cantabrians against the Force last week.
He’s been sorely missed in this Crusaders pack and along with a fully-fit Ethan Blackadder frames one of the competition’s top enforcers.
A 39-point shutout by the 12th-ranked Crusaders has thrown a massive spanner in the works for Melbourne – and their run home doesn’t get much easier.
While the Rebels re still well placed to make their first Trans-Tasman finals appearance, they face the Blues, Reds and Chiefs over the next three weeks before hitting the road against ACT and Fijian Drua to round out their campaign.
It’s arguably Super Rugby’s toughest block of fixtures and they’ll need to garner at least two wins to guarantee a playoff berth, unless they want – in captain Sam Talakai’s post-game words – to get “their pants pulled down” again.
Few rugby players can boast the longevity and success of Owen Franks – except maybe when it comes to bagging tries.
The legendary Test prop has racked up 175 games. Today, he scored just his third try and first since 2010.
Yes, we know it’s not a prop's primary role. But to have more titles than tries is a seriously cool stat.
