MATCH REPORT | Crusaders edged in tight season opener in Dunedin

There was plenty of anticipation around how both teams would start their campaigns after a solid pre‑season, and we stepped onto Forsyth Barr’s fast track knowing we’d be pushed right from the whistle. 

The Highlanders settled the quicker of the two sides. They used their set piece to build early pressure and were rewarded when Cam Millar knocked over the first penalty of the night. 

Soon after, a well-planned lineout move opened space on the right, and with the ball kept alive through a couple of neat touches, Caleb Tangitau finished strongly to make it 8-0 after the missed conversion. 

We began to find our feet as the half went on. Our forwards started to carry with more purpose through the middle, and we pushed the Highlanders back with some strong carries from Christian Lio Willie, Ethan Blackadder and the tight five.  

Our field position improved as we earned penalties and found touch inside their 22. A few promising movements didn’t quite stick as we searched for fluency, but the intent and structure were there. 

The turning point of the half came down the right edge. After a kick battle, Sevu Reece picked up a loose ball and broke into space, linking inside with Blackadder to drive us deep into Highlander's territory. With the defence turning, Noah Hotham spotted an opportunity down the short side, darting through to score our first try of the season.  

Rivez Reihana added a calm conversion from out wide to bring the score back to 8-7. 

The remainder of the half was tight and a little scrappy from both sides. There were handling slips in contact, lineouts that did not quite go to plan and plenty of contestable kicks.  

Jamie Hannah produced a clean break down the left after a smart offload from George Bell, while Chay Fihaki was steady under the high ball and gave us good touches in backfield. Our scrum began to apply pressure, winning a couple of key calls that allowed us to keep the Highlanders pinned in their half. 

Just before the break, our patience was rewarded again. We built phases through the middle and earned a penalty on the edge of the 22.  

Reihana stepped up and slotted it to give us a 10-8 lead at halftime. 

We came out for the second half with real intent and immediately put pressure on the ball. Blackadder forced a turnover at the breakdown straight after the restart, and Reihana took full advantage by nailing another penalty from the right to extend our lead to 13-8. 

The Highlanders hit back quickly. A penalty gave them a lineout inside our 22, and from there they went to work through the middle. Good, direct carries off the set piece opened a short channel close to the posts, and Angus Ta’avao was the one to finish.  

Millar’s conversion nudged the home side back in front at 15-13. 

That lifted the crowd and the Highlanders fed off it with their best passage of the match soon after. From a tipped lineout they worked back infield, where Tavatavanawai broke a tackle and offloaded to Nareki. He released Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens down the touchline, Jonah Lowe loomed up on the inside and finished a flowing team try.  

The conversion from the sideline made it 22-13 and gave the Highlanders a useful buffer. 

We stayed composed and continued to create opportunities. Our bench front row added impact at scrum time, and we forced the Highlanders to play out from deep on several occasions.  

Will Jordan sparked a damaging counterattack from a long kick, slicing through their line and taking us to the 22 before the defence was able to scramble. Although a couple of promising moments in the red zone didn’t quite connect, we kept building pressure and turned territory into points just after the hour mark. 

From a strong scrum on the left, we shifted the ball across the line. Jordan received it with defenders in front but stepped sharply off his left, slipped through the tackle and reached out to score. 

 

Kemara added the conversion from a tricky angle to close the gap to 22-20 and swing momentum back our way. 

The match tightened up again as both teams turned to the boot. We defended strongly through the middle, turning the Highlanders back after a long passage on our line and forcing them to kick.  

Jordan then showed his class by taking a mark, tapping quickly and surging all the way to halfway before kicking in behind, which eventually set up more field position. Our work at scrum time was rewarded on the scoreboard when sustained pressure earned a penalty in front, and Kemara knocked it over to give us a 23-22 lead with less than ten minutes to play. 

The final stages were tense. The Highlanders kept the ball in hand off a lineout and looked to open us up wide, but our defence held its shape, and we forced them to kick in behind or play for territory. There were contests in the air and big carries on both sides as the clock wound down. 

With just over a minute left, a chip ahead from Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens led to a penalty against us in the wide channel, and Millar was handed a long range shot to regain the lead. 

He struck it well from 45 metres to put the Highlanders ahead 25-23. 

We still had time for one last push. From the restart we attacked the breakdown and did enough to make the ball unplayable, earning a scrum with seconds remaining.  

We launched one final sequence from just inside halfway, carrying hard through the middle and probing for a clean opening. Noah Hotham tidied up a loose ball under pressure, and we looked to work ourselves into range, but as Kemara carried into contact the ball came free and the whistle followed. 

It was a tight and physical way to start the season, with plenty of positive signs in the way we turned around a slow start, leaned on our set piece and found space through our backs. 

 The Highlanders were accurate at key moments, particularly at the breakdown and in their scoring movements, and they took their chances in front of a vocal home crowd. For us, there is a clear platform to build from as we sharpen our combinations and look ahead to the next challenge. 

Captain David Havili says the Highlanders earned their result tonight.  

“The Highlanders did a great job at the breakdown; they beat us in that area tonight. They showed the physicality you need to finish off the opportunities,” he says. 

“We lacked skillset, we had opportunities to score but they put us under a lot of pressure in our set piece. 

“We don’t take any team lightly and we got beaten by the better team tonight, we need to dig deep and look where we can be better.” 

Head Coach Rob Penney echoed that view. 

“We're really disappointed. Great credit to the Highlanders, they always front up and it's a credit to their organisation, our accuracy was poor, we had over a dozen errors around halftime which got worse in the second half,” Penney says.

 

“We started to get a bit of flow on then gave away a few silly penalties. We were second today no doubt.” 

Full time in Dunedin: Highlanders 25, Crusaders 23