Crusaders v Highlanders: what you need to know
Crusaders v Highlanders
Kick-off: 7:05pm Friday 23 May
Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch
Live blog updates on RNZ Sport
Despite being last place on the table, the Highlanders still have a mathematical chance of making the Super Rugby Pacific play-offs. It's about as remote as trip to the Chatham Islands, but a bonus point win tonight will at least set them on that path. Jamie Joseph's team is coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Hurricanes in Wellington, however the signs were there that they could cause an upset tonight.
The Crusaders are coming off an entertaining win against the Waratahs, made more impressive considering how many players they were missing.
Crusaders:
1. Tamaiti Williams, 2. Codie Taylor, 3. Kershawl Sykes-Martin, 4. Scott Barrett, 5. Jamie Hannah, 6. Cullen Grace, 7. Tom Christie, 8. Christian Lio-Willie, 9. Mitch Drummond, 10. Rivez Reihana, 11. Macca Springer, 12. David Havili (c), 13. Braydon Ennor, 14. Sevu Reece, 15. Johnny McNicholl
Bench: 16. George Bell, 17. George Bower, 18. Seb Calder, 19. Quinten Strange, 20. Corey Kellow, 21. Kyle Preston, 22. James O'Connor, 23. Dallas McLeod
Highlanders:
1. Ethan de Groot (cc), 2. Jack Taylor, 3. Saula Ma'u, 4. Mitch Dunshea, 5. Fabian Holland, 6. Te Kamaka Howden, 7. Veveni Lasaqa, 8. Sean Withy, 9. Folau Fakatava, 10. Taine Robinson, 11. Taniela Filimone, 12. Timoci Tavatavanawai (cc), 13. Tanielu Tele'a, 14. Jonah Lowe, 15. Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens
Bench: 16. Soane Vikena, 17. Josh Bartlett, 18. Sosefo Kautai, 19. Tai Cribb, 20. Will Stodart, 21. Adam Lennox, 22. Cam Millar, 23. Thomas Umaga-Jensen
Saula Ma'u during the Highlanders v Crusaders, Super Rugby Pacific match, Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin.
Photo:
Michael Thomas/ActionPress
Scott Barrett is back alongside Jamie Hannah in the second row, which makes this about as close to a first choice pack for the Crusaders. Mitch Drummond gets to run out with the starting team in his 150th Super Rugby game, with Kyle Preston on the bench and Noah Hotham given the weekend off, while Johnny McNicholl retains his spot at fullback.
Not many changes for the Highlanders, with Taniela Filimone starting on the wing for the injured Jona Nareki. Tai Cribb comes onto the bench to cover loose forward, while Saula Ma'u plays his 50th game for the Highlanders.
Jonah Lowe scores a try during the Hurricanes v Highlanders, Super Rugby Pacific match, Sky Stadium.
Photo:
Marty Melville/Actionpress
The Crusaders have won four of their last five matches against the Highlanders, scoring over 40 points in their last two wins.
The Highlanders have lost eight of their last nine Super Rugby Pacific games including their last four in a row.
Highlanders wing Jonah Lowe is on a three-game try scoring streak in Super Rugby Pacific, crossing for a total of five tries in that period.
Crusaders 43 - 10 Highlanders
This was where it all started to go badly wrong for the Highlanders, they were blown off the park before halftime by a very efficient Crusaders side in round 11. The good news is that they don't have to deal with Will Jordan again, with the fullback gashing them for two tries in the first 10 minutes. But really, this defeat exposed some serious areas of concern for the Highlanders on defence.
This is a very strong looking Crusaders side, playing at home and with a serious motivation to regain the top spot on the ladder. So the task is monumental for the strugglers, however if the Highlanders can put up the sort of fight they showed last weekend it's possible they can pull something off. It'll take a serious amount of luck and attacking nous, considering they need a bonus point to keep their season alive.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
40 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Netball: Tenacious Magic midcourter impresses as ball-winner
Magics Georgie Edgecombe Photo: DJ Mills / Georgie Edgecombe's ball-hunting abilities in a position that doesn't usually shine has been turning heads in the ANZ Premiership. The Magic midcourter has been the most consistent performer in a team that struggled until earlier this week when the Magic had a big win over the Stars to notch up their first win of the season. The 24-year-old's explosiveness off the mark and closing speed have seen her win a lot of ball at wing defence, a position which requires a lot of graft but doesn't necessary get the rewards. But after four rounds, Edgecombe is in the top 10 for intercepts and sits fourth for deflections behind circle defenders Carys Stythe, Catherine Hall, and Jane Watson. Edgecombe grew up in Hamilton and lives in Cambridge where she went to St Peter's for her college years. While she was at St Peter's, she played alongside some of the country's top up and coming female athletes in two other sports, including Tall Fern Charlisse Leger-Walker. Edgecombe won national sporting titles for her school and representative sides in basketball and touch. St Peter's were national New Zealand Secondary Schools basketball champions. Leger-Walker, who has made a name for herself in women's college basketball in the United States, spearheaded the college A-team, alongside fellow Tall Fern Ella Bradley, who also plays in the USA. Former Tall Fern Leanne Walker coached the St Peter's team back then. "I was keen to be a part of the basketball team and have some fun. Obviously Charlisse is a bit of a GOAT so it was cool to play alongside her and her mum Leanne coaching us, so we had a pretty strong team led by Charlisse and Ella," Edgecombe said. Edgecombe also played in the U18 Waikato touch team when they became national champions. Members of that side would go on to represent New Zealand in touch and sevens. "Touch was definitely my summer sport that I gravitated towards and would still love to play but there's not much time in the year at the moment but loved touch and that kind of whānau based sport that I grew up playing, I spent a lot of summers on the touch field." Charlisse Leger-Walker of New Zealand Tall Ferns. Photo: Photosport Edgecombe's start in netball was typical. "I started playing when I was about eight or nine. I was definitely super sporty and netball was just one of the sports I participated in," Edgecombe said. "My parents encouraged us, I've got two older brothers we did as many sports as we could, mostly as a social thing at first and as we got a bit older got a bit more competitive and wanted to take it more seriously." At St Peter's she came under the tutelage of former Silver Fern Amigene Metcalfe, who would later become the coach of the Magic when Edgecombe first joined the team. Edgecombe captained the Senior A netball team for the three years that she was in the side. In her final year at St Peters, she was head girl and very busy. "I tried to play those other sports as long as I could but going into my final year was probably when I thought 'I could continue netball after school' and started thinking about it a bit more seriously. In year 13, I focussed mainly on netball, I still played touch in the summer but in those winter months it was just netball, it was school, it was reps." Her decision to focus on netball paid off - later that year she was named in the NZ Secondary Schools Squad for 2018. In her first two year's out of college, Edgecombe was a Magic training partner and played for the feeder team in the National Netball League. In 2020, she made the NZ U21 squad ahead of the 2021 Netball World Youth Cup, which was cancelled due to Covid. Her second season as a fully contracted Magic player in 2022 was a baptism of fire, when she was thrust into the wing attack position to help cover injury. She was mostly a circle defender at high school and the new position was counter-intuitive to what she was used to. In the season's since then she has mostly played wing defence and a bit at centre. "Wing defence is where I feel most comfortable and feel like I can have the most impact on a game at the moment but I do enjoy when I get to play centre just having the ball in your hands a bit more." Georgie Edgecombe (right). Photo: Photosport Now in her fifth year at the Magic, Edgecombe has taken a number of stunning intercepts this season. "That's every defenders most exciting part of the game and what we work towards in our trainings. I think wing defence can sometimes be a bit of a grind position where you do a lot of work out front to set things up for the defenders behind you, but it's cool in our defensive unit we've got structures where anyone can get ball. "It's just putting yourself in the right positions and definitely exciting and an adrenaline rush when you get those cool intercepts." What are the physical attributes that allow her to cover so much ground? "Agility comes into it but a lot of it I would say is fitness, having a good engine to be able to keep going for the full 60 minutes. My fitness is something I worked hard on in the off season and it allows me to keep running, that's my mentality. The wing attacks are running everywhere so I have to try keep up with them." Edgecombe was named in the Silver Ferns development squad for the first time last year, played for NZA in training matches against the Silver Ferns, and played for the FAST5 Ferns in November. She graduated from Waikato University at the end of 2022 with a Bachelor of Communications and is still figuring out what she wants to do with it. Edgecombe is not afraid to say she has her sights on the Silver Ferns. "For sure, that's definitely the goal long-term. For now my main focus is helping the Magic to be successful ... and whatever will be in the future whether it's this season or in the next season ...hopefully, it's definitely the goal." Veteran Magic circle-defender Georgia Tong said it was an asset having someone as tenacious as Edgecombe in the team. "You know that she's always going to have your back and she's just going to go and go and go again and she's a really positive person as well. Being on the line next to her is really good when you know you haven't got a few balls in awhile, she's always like 'come on we've got this next one'," Tong said. The Magic meet the Stars again on Monday night in Auckland.
Otago Daily Times
an hour ago
- Otago Daily Times
Highlanders' 2015 title sticks in mind
Josh Cook. PHOTO: SUPPLIED 1. Favourite rugby memory? Probably the Highlanders winning the 2015 Super Rugby championship. That was a good day and a good Sunday as well. I was flatting in Dunedin, and there was a big complex party where we were living in Forth St. 2. Hardest opponent? It would have to be Clutha. They're always pretty tough, yeah. 3. What rugby player do you admire and why? Aaron Smith. He's pretty sharp, just with his skill level. I can't really say I model my game after him but I try to work on my pass. 4. What do you do to relax? I play a bit of golf, not very well. I like walking the dogs, and doing a bit of paua diving and fishing. 5. If Josh Cook is cooking, what are we eating? Every morning for breakfast I make avocado and eggs on toast with hot honey. It's a spicy honey and it's really good. Burns a bit of a hole in the pocket, though.
Otago Daily Times
an hour ago
- Otago Daily Times
Hope new refs donning green jerseys will create empathy
Volunteer referees (from left) Andy Robertson, Brodee Thomson, Daniel Thom, Logan Boyd and Amelia O'Connell don the new green jerseys at the Taieri junior tournament at the weekend. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Otago Rugby Football Union referee development officer Brandon Hale hopes this green jersey will be the source of a lot less controversy. When the Highlanders introduced their green jersey in 2011, it sparked a public outcry. The sky did not cave in and people eventually moved on. A decade and change later, the Otago union has introduced a green jersey for its junior rookie referees. The initiative was launched during the Taieri junior sevens tournament at the weekend. Hale said the idea behind the different coloured jerseys was to signal to the public the referees in green were learning. "So we'd identified that there was nothing to actually differentiate between someone who's had quite a bit of experience and someone who's very new in their journey," he said. "And so we wanted a visual representation of someone who's green in their experience. "So it's more of a subtle nod to where they are at in their current journey." Hale hoped people would recognise the person in the green jersey was still learning and go easy on them. Referees do not get a lot of amazing feedback from the sidelines usually. "It's an indication to our public to say, 'look, hey, have a bit of patience with these referees as they may have only got out in the middle with a whistle three or four times potentially.' "The first time we do anything, we're not exactly completely competent just yet. "So we obviously have to have a bit of patience with these people. "It also would hopefully encourage some more support and good feedback." The green jerseys have been rolled out at junior club and lower secondary school grades. Hale said there were 14 people across the province in the green jerseys, which look more like a T-shirt. The idea is once the rookie referees become more confident, they will "graduate" to a white jersey. Referee numbers were stagnant in the province, Hale said. But he hopes the initiative will help encourage people to stay involved longer. "We recognise that the first year of a referee's development is the most important. "That's probably where we get the biggest drop-off in referees, hence why we've made a conscious effort to really support our new referees through this initiative."
