Ruthless Saders put Brumbies away
For long periods in the encounter the Brumbies' performance matched their camouflage kit - worn to commemorate ANZAC Day - and the Crusaders made them pay by running in six tries, including a Codie Taylor double.
The Crusaders dominated the opening minutes and placed an immense amount of pressure on the Brumbies' defence lines. An attacking scrum some five metres from the Brumbies' lines saw captain Kieran Read peel off the back before offloading to a flying Nemani Nadolo who could not be stopped as he crashed his way over.
Richie Mo'unga added the easy conversion to hand the Crusaders a 7-0 lead after six minutes of play.
The Brumbies got their hands on the ball in the next period of play and scrumhalf Tomás Cubelli began to dictate the pace of the game. He got his fellow players to follow suit and after a number of patient phases, the ball was flung wide to Robbie Coleman who dotted down in the corner.
Christian Lealiifano split the uprights from the left touchline to level matters at 7-7 after 10 minutes.
The Crusaders dominated the next 19 minutes as they added three tries to race to a 19-point lead after 29 minutes.
First, Matt Todd ripped the ball in a tackle on the halfway line and sent Jone Macilai on his way to score in the corner and the visitors turned on the style from that point, with their offload game being particularly useful.
Israel Dagg benefitted from Kieron Fonotia and Nadolo offloads before Taylor added his name to the scoreboard when he got over the line following a powerful driving maul. Mo'unga added two of the three conversions to ensure the Crusaders had a healthy 26-7 lead.
The Brumbies kept plugging away for the remainder of the half and found themselves in prime attacking positions but had nothing to show for it - the best chance being a number of line-outs five metres from the Crusaders' line, only to be thwarted by some resilient defence.
The home side withstood early pressure before they pounced. An interception, followed by a kick ahead placed the Crusaders under pressure. The Brumbies made the pressure count as a simple backline move saw Joe Tomane get the ball and raced down the line to grab the try.
Lealiifano's second tricky conversion found its mark as he reduced the deficit to 14-26 after 47 minutes.
The Brumbies began to have the ascendency but had the wind knocked out of them when David Havili pounced on a loose ball close to his 22. He hacked it forward, scooped it up close to the Brumbies' 22 and offloaded to Taylor who had an easy run to grab his second try.
Mo'unga slotted his fourth conversion to restore the Crusaders' 19-point lead after 52 minutes. The one-way traffic continued for much of the second half as Marty McKenzie grabbed himself a debut try.
Relentless pressure on the Brumbies' defence, combined with patience and continuity saw the replacement flyhalf slice through to grab the score. He converted the try himself as the Crusaders' lead stretched to 40-14 after 65 minutes.
The Brumbies ended the match on the front foot as the looked to restore some pride, however, the Crusaders' defence stood firm as they denied the home side a late sc roe to ensure they picked up their third consecutive victory in Canberra for the first time.
Man of the match: Joe Tomane did all he could with his minimal attacking opportunities, although he let himself down with a few handling errors. Tomás Cubelli was lively while Sam Carter, Scott Fardy and Stephen Moore put in the hard yards throughout. Codie Taylor worked hard and was rewarded with a brace, Kieran Read proved why he still has plenty of juice left in the tank, Israel Dagg continued his good form since returning to action and Kieron Fonotia and David Havili were streaks ahead of their opposite numbers. However, after some massive runs and cheeky offloads which got his side over the advantage line more often than not, Nemani Nadolo walks away with the award.
Scorers:
For Brumbies:
Tries: Coleman, Tomane
Cons: Lealiifano 2
For Crusaders:
Tries: Nadolo, Macilai, Dagg, Taylor 2, McKenzie
Cons: Mo'unga 4, McKenzie
Teams:
Brumbies: 15 Aidan Toua, 14 Robbie Coleman, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Joe Tomane, 10 Christian Lealiifano (co-captain), 9 Tomás Cubelli, 8 Jordan Smiler, 7 Jarrad Butler, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore (co-captain), 1 Scott Sio.
Replacements: 16 Josh Mann-Rea, 17 Allan Alaalatoa, 18 Leslie Leulua’iali’i-Makin, 19 Tom Staniforth, 20 Michael Wells, 21 Michael Dowsett, 22 James Dargaville, 23 Nigel Ah Wong.
Crusaders: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Jone Macilai, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 David Havili, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Richie Mo'unga, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Kieran Read (captain), 7 Matt Todd, 6 Jordan Taufua, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody.
Replacements: 16 Ged Robinson, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Mike Alaalatoa, 19 Sam Whitelock, 20 Tim Boys, 21 Mitchell Drummond, 22 Sean Wainui, 23 Marty McKenzie.
Referee: Jaco Peyper