Crusaders dispatch the Blues in bonus point style to re-ignite their title defence

Friday, 8 May 2026

At One New Zealand Stadium, Christchurch: Crusaders 36 (George Bower try 13min, Jamie Hannah try 22min, Rivez Reihana try 44min, Kyle Preston try 51min, Sevu Reece try 61min, George Bell try 77min; Rivez Reihana 3 con) Blues 20 (AJ Lam try 32min, Sam Nock try 39min, Hoskins Sotutu try 69min; Stephen Perofeta pen, Beauden Barrett con). HT: 12-13.

Red card: Kurtis MacDonald (Crusaders)

It’s fair to say Leicester Fainga’anuku is set to stay in the No 7 jersey.

The openside flanker powered the Crusaders to a crunch 36-20 victory over the Blues with a barnstorming performance in Christchurch on Friday night.

Fainga’anuku’s fingerprints were all over the bonus point win at One New Zealand Stadium, where the red and blacks improved to 2-0 and lit a fire under their title defence with one of their best performances of the season.

In his third start in the No 7 jersey, the blockbusting hybrid played a hand in three of the Crusaders’ six tries, snared two breakdown penalties, and was a menace with ball in hand.

It was his excellent grubber kick which put wing Sevu Reece over in the 61st minute that essentially sealed the game, putting the Crusaders 31-13 ahead in the first New Zealand derby in their new stadium.

A 20-minute red card to Kurtis MacDonald for clobbering Stephen Perofeta in the air, and a yellow card to prop Jack Sexton, meant the Crusaders had to close out the game with 13 players - something they’ve struggled to do this season with their full contingent on the park.

But they finished the job in front of a 25,000-strong crowd, icing the victory when replacement hooker George Bell barrelled over with a few minutes to play.

Not only did it restore the bonus point after Hoskins Sotutu had scored down the other end, it rammed home the Crusaders’ 20th win from their last 21 home matches against the Auckland-based side.

Indeed, the Blues, who lost Dalton Papali'i to a suspected broken jaw, were mistaken if they thought the end of the Crusaders’ old Addington stadium might bring brighter days to their visits to the Garden City.

They had their moments, leading by a point at halftime, but the Crusaders came out of the sheds and promptly scored tries through pivot Rivez Reihana and halfback Kyle Preston to surge clear.

The Crusaders earlier drew up a play for loosehead prop and newly minted centurion George Bower, who joked during the week about the fact he hadn’t yet scored a try for the red and blacks in his previous 99 games.

But Bower broke his duck in style, smashing over for the first try of the match via a smooth lineout move, which saw the Crusaders shape to drive, before Fainga’anuku zipped down the short side and fed Bower an inside ball.

Bower’s face said it all - he grinned ear to ear and held a finger in the air - and he went close to scoring a little later in the first half, too.

“I was actually pretty nervous all week. It was a pre-planned move to celebrate his occasion. All week, I was telling him to make sure you be there for that ball,” Fainga’anuku said.

In a statement performance, Fainga’anuku also assisted the Crusaders’ other first half try, scored by lock Jamie Hannah.

Fainga’anuku dug into his bag of tricks and uncorked a left-footed chip, one Blues halfback Sam Nock couldn’t handle, before Hannah pounced.

The utility also went on a rampaging 30-metre run, smashing through the tackle of Sotutu in the process.

On the back of his performance, the Crusaders were in control, leading 12-3 and in position to strike again and give themselves a ton of breathing room.

However, after Bower was penalised for holding on with the line begging, the Crusaders went back to their old tricks and started shooting themselves in the foot.

That started with lock Antonio Shalfoon spilling a regulation pass in Blues territory, a blunder the visitors punished with a scorching counter-attack, finished by centre AJ Lam 75 metres from the mistake.

And when Fainga’anuku couldn’t handle a poor David Havili pass inside their own 22, the Blues wasted little time punishing them as Nock sniped over and gave the Blues an unlikely 13-12 lead at the break.

The Blues would only score again when the Crusaders had two players in the bin, giving them plenty to ponder before they host the Hurricanes next week.

Now 6-6 and at least temporarily in fourth place, the Crusaders head into their bye week knowing they will return in a fortnight inside the top six.