Captain fantastic Mitchell Drummond leads Canterbury to the final

Another fantastic Crusaders derby between Tasman and Canterbury has come to an end with a familiar result as the Cantabs upset the Mako in a semi-final once again.

Canterbury continue their dominance in the Mitre 10 Cup as they reach their 10th final in 11 years in what was an intense matchup between the two sides.

Top Performers from the encounter:

Mitchell Drummond - Canterbury

Drummond stepped up when it mattered most as he delivered a match-winning performance to inspire his side to victory in the dying minutes of the match.

The Crusaders halfback, who has been included in the All Blacks 51-man squad to go to Japan, controlled the attack brilliant throughout and made intelligent decisions.

He scored two crucial tries for the visitors, the first was off the back of powerful scrum where he threw a dummy and exploited a gap.

The second was even more impressive as he grubbed the ball past the defence at a ruck, regathered it to score what was the match-winning try. 

Luke Romano - Canterbury

The All Black second rower furthered his claim for a test recall with another fantastic performance. 

His ball carriers were dominant, as too were his tackles, while his lineouts were sharp.

The 31 test cap lock sent a strong message to the All Blacks selectors with his performance in this game.

David Havili - Tasman

Another All Black/ Crusaders man that played out of his skin today. Havili wears his heart on his sleeve and was effective in all facets of the game the today.

He weighed in with a well-taken try in the first half, running a superb angle to cut through the defence, and is unlucky to be on the losing end of the result.

George Bridge - Canterbury

Another standout performance by one of the most consistent outside backs in New Zealand.

He was solid under the high ball and made a number of crucial try-saving tackles.

He added pace to the attack with well-timed runs and could cause Japan a number of issues if given the opportunity next month.

Tyrel Lomax - Tasman 

Lomax furthered his reputation as one of the best up and coming tightheads in the country with a strong performance against one of the best looseheads in the world in Joe Moody.

He held his own at scrum time and was busy around the park. He is another player who will want to make his mark in Japan with the All Blacks.