Crusaders’ second-half whirlwind slays Stormers

Caleb Ralph

Crusaders 51
Stormers 23


The Crusaders scored seven second-half tries, two each to wingers Caleb Ralph and Rico Gear, to almost extinguish the Stormers' semifinal hopes in Cape Town yesterday.

Although Ralph's first try in just the second minute of the second half put the Crusaders in front for the first time in their eventual win, there had been signs of an imminent romp if crucial passes stuck. When Ralph was held up over the tryline in the 57th minute, it was the last time they faltered near or over the tryline.

For the next 17 minutes they played clinical rugby, with the forwards boring in and halfback Justin Marshall distributing the ball swiftly and intelligently.

First five-eighths Daniel Carter started to weave his magic and after playing a key role in the tries scored by Gear, Aaron Mauger and Leon MacDonald, he scored himself to go past the 400-point mark in the competition and give his team a 37-16 lead before making way for Andrew Mehrtens.

Mehrtens added another dimension to the swift ball movement in the backline and engineered Gear and Ralph's second tries.

The Sharks managed two tries by midfield back Marius Joubert and replacement winger Tonderai Chavhanga but they were not enough to save them the embarrassment of being booed off Newlands by a 40,000-strong crowd.

"The first half was a bit tight, but once we cut down the mistakes we started finding our way to the line. Besides, the Stormers defended quite well in the first half," Crusaders captain Reuben Thorne said. "We just took a lot of time to settle."

Marshall, man of the match, said he knew the Stormers' defence would give way after being pounded relentlessly. "It happens in a game like that - if you score a try or two against a stern defence like that, it just makes it hard for the opponents to hold on," he said.

The victory vaulted the Crusaders into second place, six points behind the Waratahs on 31, and equal on 25 points with the Hurricanes. The Crusaders and the Stormers were without their No 1 openside flankers, Richie McCaw and Schalk Burger.

But the Crusaders didn't seem to miss McCaw's skills in the breakdowns as much as they did in their 20-35 loss to the Bulls last weekend.

Johnny Leo'o, who started the game on the openside, had support from Thorne, Mose Tuiali'i, Norm Maxwell and Chris Jack.

Things looked promising for the Stormers when they turned around with a 6-3 lead after two penalty goals from first five-eighths Chris Rossouw and some heroic defence under persistent pressure.

But once Ralph took a pass from Casey Laulala to dive over in the corner two minutes into the second half, the floodgates opened.

- NZPA