Fijian flier helps seal victory for Crusaders
Nemani Nadolo’s late show sends Canterbury franchise into their 13th consecutive Super 15 play-offs
The Canterbury Crusaders secured their 13th consecutive Super Rugby play-offs berth when a dash of Nemani Nadolo brilliance sealed a 21-13 victory over the Auckland Blues at AMI Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday.
In a bruising clash between two All Blacks-laden sides, the result was in the balance until the Crusaders lifted the pace of the game several notches for Fijian international Nadolo to score his second try seven minutes from time.
With Dan Carter's conversion, it lifted the Crusaders from a narrow 14-13 lead to 21-13 ahead and left the Blues with the near-impossible task of having to score twice in the closing minutes.
[The Blues] are an extremely dangerous side with a lot of X factor and we really worked hard on defence to make sure we nullified that
But having dominated territory for most of the second half, the Blues had no answer to the Crusaders' withering closing burst. Not only could they not score again, their hopes of making the play-offs were reduced to a slim mathematical chance.
All Blacks ace Carter, playing his first full game of the year after a long holiday and then a brief cameo last week when the Crusaders were beaten by the Wellington Hurricanes, said it was a relief to get the win after defending for much of the game.
The Blues "really turned up to play. They're an extremely dangerous side with a lot of X factor and we really worked hard on defence to make sure we nullified that", he said.
The Crusaders hold a four-point lead in the packed New Zealand conference, with only six points separating the Otago Highlanders, Hurricanes, Waikato Chiefs and Blues.