Crusaders end 5-match losing streak and Rebels beat Waratahs in Super Rugby Pacific

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — Former Wales winger Johnny McNicholl scored a try in each half Friday as the Christchurch-based Crusaders ended a five-match losing start to the Super Rugby Pacific season with a 37-26 win over the Chiefs.

McNicholl scored the second try for the Crusaders, who led 22-12 at halftime, and then ran 70 meters for an intercept try in the 63rd minute with the lead threatened at 27-19.

In the second match of the day at Sydney, the Melbourne Rebels scored three tries in the final 14 minutes to beat New South Wales 27-21, handing the Waratahs their fifth loss in six matches. It was the Rebels’ first away win against an Australian team since April 2022, which came against the Western Force in Perth.

The McNicholl try at Christchurch marked a turning point for the Crusaders who had began to look under pressure for the first time in the match and seemed in danger of slipping to their sixth successive loss. With McNicholl's score they enjoyed the breathing space of a 15-point lead.

The importance of that buffer was made clearer when the Chiefs scored soon after, cutting the lead to 34-26.

Tested again, the Crusaders responded and won a penalty for a high tackle which gave them the 11-point lead they carried to fulltime.

“It’s amazing. The boys fronted tonight,” Crusaders captain Tom Christie said. “One through 23, they lifted tonight from what we’ve had in the past. It just shows, a little bit of adversity we stuck together. There’s a long way to go yet, we can acknowledge that, but it was a step in the right direction.”

Christie was part of the story of the match and the way in which the Crusaders managed to finally overcome numerous setbacks. Their season has been blighted by injuries, including those to All Blacks fullback Will Jordan and former Wales international Leigh Halfpenny before a match had been played.

Injuries have continued to mount, most recently to All Blacks center David Havili who had inherited the captaincy from Scott Barrett when Barrett suffered a broken finger.

Mitch Drummond was meant to lead the Crusaders on Saturday but he was forced to withdraw with an illness shortly before kickoff and the leadership fell for the first time to Christie.

“I think we just had a sense of freedom,” Christie said. “Obviously there’s been a bit in the media if you chose to read it. The shackles were off. It took a bit of pressure off and we just came out here and played Crusaders rugby. We showed when we get it right we’re a dangerous team.”

The Crusaders have struggled at set pieces, especially at lineouts this season which has blunted their game. They gave up nine lineouts against the throw in last weekend’s 26-6 loss to the Auckland-based Blues.

McNicholl was an energetic addition to the Crusaders attack. He played for the Crusaders before leaving for Britain where he was capped 12 times by Wales. Saturday’s match was his first home match in Christchurch in eight years.

McNicholl scored his first try in the 12th minute after an opening try to Chay Fihaki. Emoni Narawa and George Bell scored for the Chiefs before halftime and the Crusaders scored again through Cullen Grance

The Crusaders started the second half with an extraordinary try to hooker George Bell who was put into a gap in the Chiefs’ backline with a short pass from flyhalf Riley Hohepa. He showed pace on an angled run to the left corner.

After a try to Anton Lienert-Brown for the Chiefs, McNicholl’s second try swung the match in favor of the Crusaders.

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

Lachie Anderson of the Rebels runs to score a try during the Super Rugby match between the Waratahs and the Rebels in Sydney, Australia, Friday, March 29, 2024. (James Gourley/AAP via AP)

Tane Edmed, bottom left, of the Waratahs is tackled during during the Super Rugby match between the Waratahs and the Rebels in Sydney, Australia, Friday, March 29, 2024. (James Gourley/AAP via AP)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The league-leading Hurricanes and second-place Blues will meet Saturday in the 12th round of Super Rugby Pacific, in a match which likely will decide which team carries first placing into the playoffs.

Top ranking at the end of the regular season is a valuable prize: the team that starts the playoffs in first place retains home advantage as long as they remain in contention. The second-place team enjoys home advantage in the first two rounds of the playoffs but loses that advantage in the final if the top team qualifies.

The Auckland-based Blues and Wellington-based Hurricanes each have to play the fourth-place Chiefs before the end of the regular season, and that could potentially upset the contest for first place. But Saturday's outcome will go a long way to deciding which finishes atop the table.

The Hamilton-based Chiefs are at home Friday to Moana Pasifika and should hold onto fourth spot, though they'll be without flyhalf Damian McKenzie who is recovering from a head knock. The Chiefs play significantly less well without McKenzie to steer them and that might come as some consolation to the Blues and Hurricanes.

The Canberra-based Brumbies will travel to play the New South Wales Waratahs on Saturday in a match which is unlikely to shake their hold on third place.

The fifth-place Queensland Reds face the sixth-place Melbourne Rebels Friday in an important derby match which could switch those placings. Neither team is in immediate danger of dropping out of the playoffs zone.

The seventh-place Highlanders are up against the Christchurch-based Crusaders whose late-season rally fizzled with last weekend’s loss at home to the Reds. The defending champion Crusaders must win Saturday to have any chance of reaching the playoffs but the possibility is looking increasingly remote.

The eighth-place Fijian Drua have a good chance of remaining inside the top-eight when they play the last-place Western Force in Perth, though their form away from home is poor.

The clash of the Hurricanes and Blues remains the focal point of the round; a preview of a possible final and an unofficial All Blacks trial. Captain Billy Proctor might be in the selection spotlight after a stellar season at center for the Hurricanes.

“I just focus on playing my best footy for the Hurricanes, that is all I can do,” Proctor said. “The rest is up to, I don’t know, whoever it is to make those decisions.

"It is out of my control. All I can control is my own performance. That is all I have been focusing on, so see where it goes.”

Hurricanes fullback Ruben Love and flyhalf Brett Cameron also will be closely watched by All Blacks coach Scott Robertson as he weighs his playmaking options.

McKenzie remains the leading candidate to wear the All Blacks No. 10 jersey this season. But he will be sidelined for 12 days under concussion protocols after sustaining head knock in last weekend’s match against the Force.

McKenzie was not wearing a smart mouthguard in the Force match which means his stand-down is longer than it might have been otherwise.

“We have spoken at length around the pros and cons of not wearing one, or wearing one,” Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan said. “But ultimately it’s a player’s personal choice.

“And we back our medical staff to make good decisions around all of our players, injured or not.”

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

Rob Valetini of the Brumbies is tackled by Peter Umaga-Jensen of the Hurricanes during the Super Rugby in Canberra, Australia, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Lukas Coch/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)