Dangerous as ever when charging low to the deck. Botched one lineout in 13th minute, but was otherwise tidy at the set piece.
3. George Dyer – 4
Bagged one early scrum penalty against Tamaiti Williams, but was backpedalling in the scrums for most of the night. Busy around the park.
4. Josh Lord – 5
Neat skills on show with open-field runs and offloads. Very good lineout work in an area of the game that the Chiefs had the better of their visitors.
5. Tupou Vaa’i (vc) – 7
Full-court lock was a key lineout target, at front, middle and back, and a bulldozer in the physical clashes. Didn’t get so many chances to show his athleticism with ball in hand, until that late dash and score.
6. Simon Parker – 6
Would have been horrified to see the replay footage of George Bell bumping him off for the Crusaders’ 18th-minute try. But elsewhere he was a busy and effective tackler; smart breakdown operator, too.
7. Kaylum Boshier – 5
Things weren’t looking too bad when he left the field at the 53-minute mark. He’d put in a solid shift of tackling and breakdown work.
8. Luke Jacobson (c) – 7
The Chiefs skipper put in a staunch shift with plenty of carries, typified by a muscly charge set the scene for Samisoni Taukei’aho to dart over at short range in the 22nd minute.
9. Xavier Roe – 5
Got caught, scrapped or nudged a couple of times when in possession. Conceded a free kick for failing to put the ball into a defensive scrum, leading directly to the Crusaders’ 51st-minute scoring opportunity.
10. Josh Jacomb – 5
A couple of inaccurate passes slowed the advance of the runners outside him. Had the wheels to beat Sevu Reece in a scramble back to tidy up in 55th minute.
11. Leroy Carter – 7
Livewire winger sparked the break that led to the length-of-the-field second try and threw the pass that put Narawa in for the final strike. In between those moments, he was blazing around all over the park.
12. Quinn Tupaea (vc) – 7
Strong work to grab the opening try after his forwards had done great work on short drives. He delivered typically bruising runs and slick handling all the way to the final whistle.
13. Daniel Rona – 6
Steaming hot opening break, in which he bumped off David Havili. Much of the rest of his 59-minute run was spent barging into bodies on either side of the ball.
14. Emoni Narawa – 7
Sam Cane would have been proud to have nabbed a turnover like the one Narawa managed in the seventh minute; it sparked the break that resulted in the second try. On a night when all four wingers were impressive, Narawa’s busy, bustling efforts created great opportunities for his side.
15. Etene Nanai-Seturo – 5
Well-taken early try by a bloke who ran hard at the chance that came up in the first half.
Reserves:
16. Tyrone Thompson – 6
Nuggety hard runner is well suited to the final stages of these matches.
17. Benet Kumeroa – 5
Couldn’t get anything going in the scrums, but carted the ball willfully in the late exchanges.
18. Reuben O’Neill – 5
Tough time chasing down the Crusaders many breaks.
19. Samipeni Finau – 5
Brought more brute strength from the bench, but had a couple of sloppy handling moments.
20. Wallace Sititi – 6
Always handy having the luxury of running from the bench a bloke who was World Rugby’s breakthrough player of year the season before last. Like so many of the Chiefs heavy hitters, he couldn’t get through a Crusaders defence that improved as the game went on.
21. Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi – 5
Spilt the pill over the line on the late charge that might have given the hosts a slight chance.
22. Tepaea Cook-Savage – 5
Sevens runner brought urgency and slick hands in the final stages, with few gaps apparent.
23. Lalakai Foketi – 5
Former Wallaby was out there but seldom sighted for 21 minutes.
Crusaders
1. Tamaiti Williams – 7
Some monster work in the scrums – where the visitors grew in confidence and dominance the more the game went on. Hard man to drag down when he has the ball in his mitts, too.
2. George Bell – 7
Ran straight and true on a clean angle to bag the Crusaders’ opening try, and got involved plenty with ball in hand before limping off in the 64th minute with what looked like a nasty leg injury. But Bell and his tall colleagues will need to figure out how to fix the lineout wobbles if their campaign is to grow in momentum.
3. Fletcher Newell – 6
Another frontrower whose scrum work brought the Crusaders back into the match. By the time the two starting props tagged out in the 63rd minute, the platform for the visitors’ victory was well and truly set.
4. Antonio Shalfoon – 4
Messy tap down at first line out set the Chiefs on a charge. One minute later the ball went straight through his mitts on a Crusaders throw 10m out from their line. Chiefs pounced and scored. The lineout woes were a constant problem, but Shalfoon contributed well in the pile ups.
5. Jamie Hannah – 5
Another who will have some lineout-related homework this week, but he was a bustling defender as the red-and-black machine ground down the Chiefs. Put one wildly wayward hoof straight into touch in the 69th minute.
6. Dom Gardiner – 7
Superb work rate from the big man who powered into tackles and breakdowns, shifting bodies along the way.
7. Ethan Blackadder – 6
Another shift of head-down grunt from one of the competition’s great toilers.
8. Christian Lio‑Willie – 9
Some good lusty bursts in the early exchanges. Lio‑Willie’s effort and accuracy through the night were terrific. His hat-trick of tries was great reward in a match where big ball-carrying loosies were a dime a dozen. While some of the other All Blacks loosies in the match might be more highly regarded as ball carriers, the Crusaders No 8 was the sharpest (if not the biggest) of the lot.
9. Noah Hotham – 7
A good night of darting hustle and scraping for the No 9. Deserved the yellow after he was a bit naughty, pulling Narawa down when the Chiefs winger was chasing a grubber late in the show.
10. Taha Kemara – 8
Plenty of clever touches and runs from a guy who would have been delighted to show the Chiefs what they lost when he left town. Kept the scoreboard rolling and directed the backline with confidence.
11. Sevu Reece – 6
The darting zip might not be as electric as it once was, but Reece has always been a clever player and his match-savvy instincts are as solid as ever.
12. David Havili (c) – 8
Combative shift for the skipper, capped by a superb 57th-minute corner-flag-beating try.
13. Leicester Fainga’anuku – 6
Departed in the 58th minute after a shift of toil and grunt. On a night when midfielders had little space to move, Fainga’anuku made good ground, generally with a coupe of defenders hanging off him.
14. Chay Fihaki – 7
Great work in the air, and inserted himself into the line sweetly through the night. Beautiful chip-and-regather break set up Lio‑Willie for the 65th-minute try that shut the gate. Bopped over the conversion for good measure.
15. Will Jordan – 7
Fluffed two early passes when breaks were on, but found his mo-jo in the 25th minute on the set-piece move that put Noah Hotham over the tryline. He had the wheels to bring down Carter at the final whistle, denying the Chiefs a consolation try.
Reserves:
16. Manumaua Letiu – 6
Youngster might suddenly be the starting hooker, after George Bell exited with a nasty looking injury, joining Codie Taylor on the sick list.
17. George Bower – 6
The 25-test All Black is a pretty useful bloke to roll on from the subs bench. Crusaders maintained their scrum dominance.
18. Seb Calder – 6
Plenty of tackling still to be done when the substitute frontrowers took to the field.
19. Tahlor Cahill – 5
Put his shoulder to the wheel in the final-quarter defensive scrambles.
20. Corey Kellow – 5
Final-quarter fresh legs proved crucial as his teammates scrambled in defence.
21. Louie Chapman – 4
Got a short run as the game was descending into helter-skelter.
22. James White – 5
Got 13 minutes after Kemara headed off. The platform was sound and the result already secured.
23. Dallas McLeod – 5
On for the last 21 minutes and contributed well to the defence as the game unravelled.
