The Crusaders inflicted more misery on the winless Highlanders with a 24-8 Super Rugby win at AMI Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday.
Coming off last week’s upset 16-14 loss to the Western Force in Perth, the Crusaders rediscovered winning form to outmuscle a Highlanders outfit which has lost all eight games this season.
With a blustery wind at their backs, the Crusaders dominated the opening exchanges but just couldn’t convert a huge advantage in terms of territory and possession into points on the board.
The chances were there, but a combination of handling errors and some resolute Highlanders defence meant three Tyler Bleyendaal penalties were the only points on the board as halftime approached.
Zac Guildford came up short twice in the space of 10 minutes, bundled into touch by Ma’a Nonu as he dived over in the corner after 27 minutes before spilling a tricky pass from Israel Dagg with the tryline open.
However, centre Robbie Fruean finally broke through barely two minutes before the break, crashing over as the Crusaders shifted the ball wide from close range.
Bleyendaal added the extras and the home team took a 16-0 lead into halftime.
The Highlanders took just five minutes from the restart to open their account, halfback Aaron Smith setting up Manawatu teammate Jason Emery with a superb cut-out pass leaving him clear to dive over untouched in the corner.
The Highlanders continued to defend stoutly, fullback Ben Smith pulling off two try-saving tackles in rapid succession at the 56-minute mark when he hauled down halfback Andy Ellis then rampaging hooker Corey Flynn.
While the Highlanders’ defence was outstanding, they struggled at the set piece, with their malfunctioning lineout and patchy scrum continuing to keep them under pressure.
Tom Taylor underlined the win with a try in the 75th minute, finishing off 10 minutes of sustained Crusaders pressure when he touched down in the corner.