Fijian born Manasa Mataele scored the last try for the Crusaders to seal a win for his side beating Chiefs 45-23 in their first super rugby encounter last night at AMI Park in New Zealand.
Despite being flashed two yellow cards in the first spell through Richie Mo’unga and Michael Alaalatoa, the Crusaders managed to trail by 2 points during the half-time break.
The Chiefs led 19-17 during the half time break but the table turned in the second spell when the Crusaders began to counter their opponent’s attack which forced errors that led them to score four tries in the second half.
Crusaders captain Sam Whitelock says Chiefs gave them a good run but hats off to his boys for maintaining the pressure throughout.
“Chiefs is a good team, they kept the pressure on us using the breeze and I thank the boys for their hard work and kept on fighting till the final whistle.”
Meanwhile, the Crusaders seven tries to two victory is their third straight win over the Chiefs and their 8th in Christchurch from 11 matches
