CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — The defending champion Crusaders fanned their faint playoff hopes in Super Rugby Pacific Friday with a six-try, 39-0 win over the fourth-placed Melbourne Rebels.
The win was only the Crusaders’ second in nine games this season but temporarily bounced them off the bottom of the championship ladder and brightened their chances of reaching the quarterfinals with five matches remaining.
The Christchurch-based Crusaders fielded the biggest pack they could find and crushed the Rebels’ scrum, winning penalties and territory through the first 30 minutes. The Crusaders’ All Blacks props Fletcher Newell and George Bower dominated while the Rebels were forced to swap their entire front row in the 31st minute.
The Crusaders also freely poached the Rebels’ lineout ball, helped by the return from injury of All Blacks lock Scott Barrett.
But the handling errors that have plagued them all season continued. Though they had 88 percent of territory in the first half and controlled set pieces, they managed only two unconverted tries and led 10-0 at halftime.
There were four more tries in the second half.
“I’m certainly pleased with the way the boys turned up tonight,” Crusaders captain Barrett said. “There were some stern words this week and pretty of hurt over the last few weeks.
“But it was pleasing to see the boys roll up and put a big performance in like that.”
Backrower Christian Lio-Willie who often has made his appearances from the bench this season started and scored a try in each half for the Crusaders.
His first came in the 11th minute after a long buildup and from a flicked pass from winger Sevu Reece.
Backrower Cullen Grace scored in the 17th minute from a cross-kick by winger Heremaia Murray. But the Crusaders weren’t precise enough in their attack play to fully drive home their advantage before halftime.
Lio-Willie scored again in the 44th minute at the end of a movement which twice featured former Wales international Johnny McNicholl.
And prop Owen Franks touched down from a lineout drive in the 63rd minute for his first Super Rugby try since 2010.
The Crusaders then were able to chance their arm more and their confidence began to ebb back. Reece scored in the 77th minute, then McNicholl scored after a line break and angled run by Chay Fihaki.
The Crusaders still have a tough run-in to the playoffs but with Friday’s win and players returning from injury, the look a better prospect.
“I think the forward pack’s starting to get into their work,” Barrett said. “The scrum was good tonight.
“The boys are growing and we’re learning.”
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
Christian Lio-Willie of the Crusaders celebrates his try during the Super Rugby against the Melbourne Rebels in Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday, April 26, 2024. (John Davidson/Photosport/AAP Image via AP)
Ryan Louwrens of the Melbourne Rebels kicks the ball as Scott Barrett of the Crusaders attempts to charge it down during their Super Rugby match in Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday, April 26, 2024. (John Davidson/Photosport/AAP Image/ via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — The 700-seat amphitheater at Little Island, a park in Manhattan built above the Hudson River on a series of tulip-shaped concrete columns, will open June 6 with Twyla Tharp’s “How Long Blues” in the choreographer’s first full-length work in a decade.
Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo will sing all the major roles in a 90-minute remix of Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro)” running from Aug. 30 to Sept. 22. The works are part of a summer schedule that includes nine world premieres.
Zack Winokur, a 35-year-old director, choreographer and dancer, was announced as producing artistic director on Monday. The announcement was made by media executive Barry Diller, who alongside designer Diane von Fürstenberg was the driving force behind the park and largely funded its construction.
The 2.4-acre (0.97-hectare) park opened in 2021 in west Chelsea, and the amphitheater will be the third new major performing space in Manhattan to launch in a five-year span. The Shed began in April 2019 at Hudson Yards on the far West Side and the Perelman Performing Arts Center started performances last September at the World Trade Center site downtown.
“We’re all going in happily different directions,” Winokur said, referring to the new venues. “It should not be doing what other people are doing.”
Ticket prices will be capped at $25. A second space, a 200-seat venue called The Glade, will include free programming from Wednesdays through Sundays in July and August and utilize different curators each week. Those include Suzan-Lori Parks, Cécile McLorin Salvant and Justin Vivian Bond.
“On any given night in July and August, you can stumble into this gorgeous park which is essentially like an iconic architectural swimming island with the botanical garden on it, with sublime sunsets where you can have a beer and some food and get a free show in The Glade,” Winokur said.
There will not be rain dates and it is not yet certain how long start times can be held for bad weather to clear.
“How Long Blues” will start previews June 1 in a collaboration among Tharp, T Bone Burnett and David Mansfield.
Costanzo, who last month was hired as CEO of Opera Philadelphia, will take on “Figaro” in a staging directed by Dustin Wills with new arrangements by Dan Schlosberg and costumes designed by Emily Bode.
Winokur will direct “Robeson,” with music by John Bitoy and Khari Lucas that stars bass-baritone Davóne Tines and rearranges music of Paul Robeson while telling his life story.
Henry Hoke’s “Open Throat” will be a mostly spoken work with shadow puppets based on the novella about a queer mountain lion living beneath the Hollywood sign.
“Mama” will be written and performed by Britton Smith, along with The Sting, his funk liberation band, and choreography by Ebony Williams.
“Day For Night,” a dance choreographed by Pam Tanowitz, will take place around sunset.
FILE - The amphitheater at Little Island appears in New York on May 18, 2021. The 700-seat amphitheater will open June 6 with Twyla Tharp’s “How Long Blues” in the choreographer’s first full-length work in a decade. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)
