Carter shines in Crusaders win

Dan Carter © Gallo Images

All Black star Dan Carter won the battle of the flyhalves as his Crusaders team pulled away in the second half to defeat the Blues 33-20 in their Vodacom Super 14 match in Christchurch on Saturday.

Blow-by-blow scoring

Carter was in sublime form, setting up the first Crusader try with a deft break, and contributing 18 points with the boot as his team won a tense derby between the two sides.

In the process he overshadowed former Crusaders teammate Stephen Brett, who himself had a good showing with 15 points on the night, courtesy of four penalties and a drop goal.

Brett kept the pace with the All Black kingpin, but was forced off the field in the 70th minute with an injury, after being knocked off his feat by Robert Fruean on his way to the Crusaders third try.

Unfortunately for the Crusaders, they weren’t able to snatch a bonus point in the dying minutes, meaning the Bulls, who have a bye this week, stay top without taking the field.

Brett was the first to raise his hand in the battle, slotting a penalty and drop to give the Blues an early 6-0 lead. But two Carter penalties cut the lead to just three as he slotted another kick midway through the first half.

Carter, however, with little ball in the opening stanza to talk about, took the first chance he was given on attack to put his side ahead.

From a setpiece, he spotted a small gap, lurched forward through it before offloading to Jarrod Payne, who sent the ball inside for George Whitelock to score.

Brett kept his side in touch with two more penalties, with Carter adding another to give the Crusaders a 16-15 half-time lead.

However, in the second half, the Crusaders pressed home their advantage, with Carter’s boot keeping the Blues on the back foot and probing for the corners.

Things went awry for the Blues after Rudi Wulf initially chased a kick down under pressure well on the sideline, but his floated pass across field to Joe Rokocoko was snatched under the winger’s breath by Ryan Crotty, who intercepted for the try.

Carter extended the lead to 11 with another penalty, before Fruean burst through Donald’s attempt for a powerful run to the line to seal the match.

The Blues added a late try through Albie Matthewson, and were on attack in the last few minutes, but neither side would find the heroics for a last-minute bonus point.

Scorers:

Crusaders – tries: George Whitelock, Ryan Crotty, Robert Fruean. Conversions: Daniel Carter (3). Penalties: Carter (4).
Blues – try: Albie Matthewson. Penalties: Stephen Brett (4). Drop Goal: Brett.

Read more on the Super 14 page.

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