Two teams bouncing back from poor 2024 campaigns met in Christchurch on Saturday afternoon, both coming into the round five contest with two wins to their names.
It was a shaky start for the hosts, who knocked on the kickoff and gave away a scrum penalty to surrender three early points.
A back-and-forth first half made way for a third-quarter scoring outburst with a Macca Springer hat-trick in the space of eight minutes after fellow winger Sevu Reece had already collected a three-piece of his own.
A couple of consolation tries brought the Force’s tally up to 33, still miles shy of the 55 points the Crusaders had scored.
Here are four takeaways from the contest.
Player Line Breaks
1
Sevu Reece
5
2
Macca Springer
3
3
Will Jordan
2
Let’s talk about Sevu Reece
This afternoon, Sevu Reece overtook Julian Savea for the second-most tries scored in Super Rugby history. Continuing anything near his current strike rate would see the All Black take the top spot, if not next week, then the one following.
So, where does he rank amongst the all-time greats of the competition?
A five-time Super Rugby champion, Reece won Man of the Match in his 2019 Super Rugby debut and was selected not just in the All Blacks‘ 2019 Rugby World Cup squad but was quickly promoted to the starting XV.
Within seven seasons, Reece has risen to the top of the mountain, and this writer would argue his success has been underappreciated.
Some will look at the success of the Crusaders dynasty under Scott Robertson and attribute Reece’s remarkable try-scoring streak to the dominance of his team across the park. There is undeniable truth in that stance, as wingers are only unleashed when the work is done to create open space for them.
Richie Mo’unga playmaking off an All Black-laden forward pack is the dream scenario for any winger. But, it’s also true that Reece isn’t one to just wait for the game to open up for him.
The Fiji-born ball of muscle has been one of the most energetic and actively engaged wingers in the competition across the park throughout his career, throwing his weight into breakdowns and defence as if part of him wishes he were a loose forward.
Never lacking in hustle or power, Reece had two tries by halftime and a third one minute into the second period.
The list of great wingers who have graced the Super Rugby stage is as long as it is iconic, but with his remarkable finishing record, Reece can’t be overlooked as one of the best to sprint the sidelines in the southern hemisphere’s club rugby archives.
The more persistent team gets the spoils
The Western Force’s defence, both around the park and in the lineout, was causing some real headaches for the Crusaders early in this game.
The hosts went deep into the phase count throughout the first half, being forced to work for any and all metres gained by a bruising Force defence.
It looked as if the Crusaders expected nothing less from their opponents, as they stayed the course and remained confident an opportunity would present itself. Indeed, in the end, the Force were blown away.
Despite their early showing, the Force have been guilty of missing the most tackles per game of any team this season, and Saturday’s tally certainly didn’t help that.
Coming into the contests averaging north of 28 missed tackles per game with a middle-of-the-pack 86 per cent tackle success, the Force dropped off 39 attempts in this one.
The desire and mental edge were there, but it was not consistent enough to stay in the fight.
The Force are undeniably much improved this season, but it’s going to take some reps to prove to themselves that they really can hang with the big dogs.
The Crusaders’ future is bright
Five tries to Macca Springer stole the show in Christchurch, with each of the efforts requiring something a little different from the Tasman speedster.
It was the 21-year-old’s first appearance of the season, and he certainly made the most of it, with 13 carries accounting for 50 running metres – each of them passing by in a blur as Springer made his may to the try line time and time again.
Will Jordan was playmaking superbly to assist the youngster’s points tally, but it was all individual brilliance in the 53rd minute when Springer tiptoed down the sideline before collecting his own chip kick and outpacing the final two defenders to score under the posts.
Springer wasn’t the only young gun putting on a show in this one, with reserve hooker Ioane Moananu making not one but two linebreaks and also winning two turnovers in a remarkably dynamic showing off the bench.
Debuatant Xavier Saifoloi was also impressive, delivering a silky pass to Will Jordan for the fullback’s late linebreak. The 21-year-old also led his team in tackles per minute in the contest.
Beyond a statement about the club’s future, the performances show how deep this team is and what they can bring to the game in the late stages of games.
A forgotten All Black returns
Braydon Ennor is back like he never left, with pace to burn and skills to pay the bills. After 18 months sidelined with a knee injury, the nine-time All Black, still just 27 years of age, made an impressive return to Super Rugby Pacific on Saturday.
With as many defenders beaten as anyone not named Sevu Reece for the Crusaders, Ennor was electric on attack and showed his defensive instincts are still intact.
The speedster is the third centre to start alongside David Havili this season for the Crusaders, joining Levi Aumua – who had a barnstorming impact off the bench in this game – and fellow All Black Dallas McLeod.
It’s a congested position, and after Ennor shot down talk of him being swept up by a Top 14 outfit this week, it looks as if the Crusaders have some selection headaches to solve in the coming weeks.
