Crusaders outplay lacklustre Highlanders
By Brent Edwards Christchurch:

Even the most rabid Highlanders fans would have struggled to draw many positives from the 15-37 loss to the Crusaders in the Super 12 semifinal on Saturday night. Their campaign limped to an end as they were outplayed and out-thought by the efficient, highly-organised Crusaders.

There had been optimism the Highlanders would profit from the late withdrawals through injury of All Blacks Justin Marshall and Norm Maxwell. The optimism was misplaced. Ben Hurst settled quickly and provided quick, clean service from halfback and lock Chris Jack fitted like a glove into the cohesive Crusaders pack. And then there was Andrew Mehrtens, who had been in doubt until the night before the match with rib and back injuries and who was playing his first game for three weeks. You would not have known it as the All Black with the face of a choirboy and the kick of a mule contributed 22 points with a faultless goal-kicking performance and tormented the Highlanders with his tactical punting.

The Crusaders were ahead throughout and held the game in a vice-like grip except for a period midway through the second spell when Byron Kelleher scored to trim the deficit to 15-25. But the Crusaders regrouped and Fijian winger Marika Vunibaka scored two tries in the last 10 minutes - to take his tally for the season to 11 - to clinch a comprehensive win. The Highlanders were shaded in all phases, including the scrums, although that area improved when Carl Hayman subbed Joe McDonnell 25 minutes from the end and Carl Hoeft was able to revert to his specialist loose-head role. The game was an acute disappointment for Highlanders fans, as the team slumped to its sixth loss in the last eight games, and its sixth in seven matches on the road.

They were caned 17-4 in the penalty count, including 9-0 in the second half - referee Wayne Erickson was especially vigilant at scrum-time - and this was a factor in them struggling to build attacking momentum. But so were the turnovers, the handling errors, the fitful support and link play between backs and forwards which used to thrill Otago and Highlanders fans. The Highlanders tried but the X-factor was missing as they battled not only to breach the Crusaders defence, but to absorb the pressure. There were a few positives. Lock Simon Maling scored his first Super 12 try after 18 minutes after Tony Brown scythed through the defence for 30m before he was cut down by a head-high tackle which had Leon MacDonald sent to the sin bin. But it was the Crusaders rather than the Highlanders who were galvanised by the try and they kept plugging away until No 8 Ron Cribb scored on the stroke of half-time after a break by centre Mark Robinson carried on by MacDonald.

Ahead 19-8 at the break, Mehrtens kicked the Crusaders clear to 25-8 before the Highlanders strung together an excellent build-up which culminated in Kelleher dummying around the side of the ruck to score by the posts. They were back in the game but they were unable to seize the moment, the Crusaders regaining their impetus with the fresh legs of Mark Mayerhofler, Con Barrell and Steve Lancaster. Anton Oliver was, as he has been throughout the season, the outstanding Highlanders forward, while Josh Kronfeld, Taine Randell and John Blaikie played their hearts out. Paul Miller was introduced to the game after 52 minutes, probably too late. They needed his grunt from the start. But the forwards, like the backs, impressed as individuals rather than as well-integrated units and that was where the Crusaders held the advantage.

Tony Brown, severely hampered by knee and thigh injuries, limped off after 44 minutes during which the gutsy first five-eighth missed more tackles than during his entire career. There were flashes of brilliance from Pita Alatini and Romi Ropati, Marc Ellis again underlined his versatility but they were unable to spark against the suffocating defence. The Crusaders hailed Mehrtens, and rightly so, for he often seemed to have the game on a string. "It's a great feeling trudging upfield after one of his kicks," captain Todd Blackadder enthused. "He's a great player." "Mehrts is a real ignition for us and he's a dominant personality," coach Robbie Deans added. "The players draw a lot of confidence from him because he's so confident himself - he's a class act." But it was not just Mehrtens.

All the Crusaders played their part, from rampaging tight-head prop Greg Somerville, to Blackadder himself, to the excellent loose trio of Cribb, Scott Robertson and Reuben Thorne, to the smooth-operating midfield of Daryl Gibson and Robinson, to match-winner Vunibaka on the wing. They might not all be champions but, for the third consecutive year, they have sealed their status as New Zealand's champion team.