The 35-year-old former Wales international showed he had lost none of his pace, taking full advantage of the Crusaders’ ability to create space, as he proved too elusive for the Blues defence. The Blues were right in it early, but the loss of No.8 Malachi Wrampling to a yellow card, later upgraded to a red, midway through the first half was a blow they didn’t really recover from. Meanwhile, the Crusaders continued their late season march. Their opponents and the venue of their semifinal will
be determined by the result of Saturday’s Chiefs v Reds match. If the Chiefs win that game, the Blues get another lifeline under the competition’s ‘lucky loser’ concept, despite being outplayed by the Hurricanes, Chiefs and Crusaders (twice) in the past month. The match started well for the Blues, as they found a hole in the Crusaders defence and halfback Sam Nock scored after just three minutes. The Crusaders evened it up with a superb try to wing Sevu Reece. Halfway through the first half
came one of the game’s big moments, with the Blues reduced to 14 men, when Wrampling’s high shot snapped flanker Leicester Fainga’anuku’s head back on contact. A subsequent review saw the yellow card upgraded to a 20-minute red. The Crusaders took only two minutes to take advantage of that numerical advantage, with McNicholl scoring under the posts, after several phases attacking the Blues line. While flanker Anton Segner replied for the Blues to level the scores at 14-all, the Crusaders hit top gear, running in
three unanswered tries before halftime to take a 33-14 lead. They also struck a crucial blow early in the second half, with McNicholl’s second try, and while the Blues hit back with a Xavi Taele try, McNicholl scored his third and it was pretty much all over from there. Chiefs clinical against Reds The Chiefs will have a home Super Rugby Pacific semifinal, but are likely to be without star No.8 Wallace Sititi, who suffered a head injury in their 46-24 win over Queensland Reds.
In a freak occurrence, Sititi copped a double headknock midway through the first half and play was paused for a long period, while he was treated on the ground by medical staff. He was conscious when leaving the ground on a medicart, before being taken to hospital. Sititi had been hit high in a tackle by Reds loose forward Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, but almost instantly suffered a second headknock in a collision with one of his own teammates. He was clearly in distress on the ground
and was groggy when he attempted to stand. There was a delay of about six minutes, while he was attended by medics. Salakaia-Loto was given a yellow card, but it wasn’t upgraded to red on review, with officials saying Sititi dipped into the tackle and the main damage was done by the collision with his teammate. Next Friday, the Chiefs will host a semifinal against the Crusaders, who saw off the Blues 52-31 earlier. Under the competition’s ‘lucky loser’ concept, the Blues get another chance
and will take on the in-form Hurricanes in Wellington, meaning the semifinalists are all New Zealand teams. The Reds put forward a spirited effort, contesting everything with vigour, before the Chiefs’ class saw them take control midway through the second half. In a welcome return from injury, first-five Damian McKenzie scored two tries in a 26-point haul overall The semifinals: Friday, 12 June 7.05pm, Chiefs v Crusaders, FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton Saturday, 13 June 7.05pm Hurricanes v Blues – Hnry Stadium, Wellington
Crusaders, Chiefs, Blues, Hurricanes, Reds, Wallace Sititi, Malachi Wrampling, Sam Nock, Sevu Reece, McNicholl, Damian McKenzie, Super Rugby Pacific semifinals, lucky loser concept