Crusaders cruise to win

The Crusaders have cruised to a 33-3 victory over the ACT Brumbies this evening at Jade Stadium in Christchurch, as the Brumbies failed to secure the all-important bonus point.

Superstar Daniel Carter was on song for the hosts all night, booting four penalties and three conversions, while for the Brumbies, Mark Gerrard toiled hard all night down back booting countless clearance kicks from the back-half.

In slippery conditions for Rugby, the New Zealand based side got off to a superb start, with Carter slotting two penalties early in the match to send the Crusaders out to a six-point lead.

Brumbies captain Stirling Mortlock provided the reply, booting a penalty of his own to cut the deficit back to three points.

The remainder of the half saw the Brumbies defend tirelessly before Carter managed to sink his third penalty in the shadows of the break to give the Crusaders a 9-3 lead at half-time.

After a try-less first half the second looked to be heading the same way, with Carter slotting yet another penalty early in the half to hand the Crusaders a nine-point lead.

The Brumbies defended stoutly for the majority of the second half as they attempted to keep the margin in tact, before the Crusaders piled on three tries in the last ten minutes through Corey Flynn, Campbell Johnstone and Tanerau Latimer to stretch the final margin out to 30 points.

Carter booted all three conversions and in doing so, made life easier for the Sharks who will face off with the Western Force early on Saturday morning. The Sharks require a win, one bonus point and a minimum margin of ten points to scrape into the finals.

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