Blues 19 - 42 Crusaders

Full time

22 Mar 2025

Stage: Regular Season Round 6

Eden Park

The Crusaders dominated the Blues with a convincing 42-19 victory at Eden Park. Dalton Papali'i opened the scoring for the Blues with an early try, but the Crusaders quickly responded with a flurry of tries from Kyle Preston, Chay Fihaki, and Tamaiti Williams. Taha Kemara's accurate kicking extended the Crusaders' lead, and they went into halftime leading 27-7 after Fihaki's second try just before the break. In the second half, Tom Christie added to the Crusaders' tally, while Finlay Christie scored for the Blues after a yellow card to Laghlan McWhannell. Macca Springer’s try sealed the win for the Crusaders, and Will Jordan capped off an impressive performance with a late try. Kemara's kicking kept the scoreboard ticking for the Crusaders, who showcased their attacking prowess throughout. The Blues struggled to keep pace, ultimately succumbing to a strong Crusaders side.

Broadcasters

Where to watch in: Australia

Weather

Temperature: 20.7°C (Feels like 20.2°C) Condition: Clear Wind: 10.0 km/h, gusting to 23.9 km/h Humidity: 64% Cloud Cover: 0%

Highlights

Events

Kickoff
3'

Try

Dalton Papali'i · Blues

5 - 0
4'

Conversion

Xavi Taele · Blues

7 - 0
10'

Try

Kyle Preston · Crusaders

7 - 5
12'

Try

Chay Fihaki · Crusaders

7 - 10
13'

Conversion

Taha Kemara · Crusaders

7 - 12
25'

Try

Tamaiti Williams · Crusaders

7 - 17
40'

Penalty

Taha Kemara · Crusaders

7 - 25
40'

Try

Chay Fihaki · Crusaders

7 - 22
40'

Substitution

Quinten Strange on for Scott Barrett · Crusaders
Halftime 7 - 25
Second Half
43'

Substitution

Finlay Christie on for Sam Nock · Blues
45'

Yellow Card

Laghlan McWhannell · Blues
45'

Substitution

Noah Hotham on for Kyle Preston · Crusaders
51'

Try

Tom Christie · Crusaders

7 - 30
53'

Substitution

George Bower on for Tamaiti Williams · Crusaders
53'

Substitution

Marcel Renata on for Angus Ta'avao · Blues
53'

Substitution

Harry Plummer on for Stephen Perofeta · Blues
55'

Yellow Card Complete

Laghlan McWhannell · Blues
57'

Try

Marcel Renata · Blues

12 - 30
57'

Substitution

Seb Calder on for Fletcher Newell · Crusaders
57'

Substitution

Jordan Lay on for Josh Fusitu'a · Blues
57'

Substitution

Macca Springer on for Dallas McLeod · Crusaders
58'

Conversion

Harry Plummer · Blues

14 - 30
58'

Substitution

Cole Forbes on for Corey Evans · Blues
59'

Substitution

James O'Connor on for Taha Kemara · Crusaders
60'

Substitution

Corey Kellow on for Tom Christie · Crusaders
63'

Try

Macca Springer · Crusaders

14 - 35
64'

Conversion

James O'Connor · Crusaders

14 - 37
64'

Substitution

Tristyn Cook on for Laghlan McWhannell · Blues
64'

Substitution

Cameron Suafoa on for Cam Christie · Blues
65'

Substitution

Bryn Gordon on for James Mullan · Blues
65'

Substitution

Matt Moulds on for Ioane Moananu · Crusaders
67'

Try

Finlay Christie · Blues

19 - 37
80'

Try

Will Jordan · Crusaders

19 - 42
Fulltime 19 - 42

Player ratings

Blues

15 Corey Evans 7.3
14 Mark Tele'a 6.2
13 Rieko Ioane 7.0
12 Xavi Taele 6.3
11 Caleb Clarke 6.5
10 Stephen Perofeta 5.7
9 Sam Nock 6.3
1 Josh Fusitu'a 6.1
2 James Mullan 7.4
3 Angus Ta'avao 4.8
4 Josh Beehre 6.9
5 Laghlan McWhannell 4.3
6 Cam Christie 6.6
7 Dalton Papali'i 7.5
8 Hoskins Sotutu 7.3
16 Bryn Gordon 6.1
17 Jordan Lay 6.2
18 Marcel Renata 7.2
19 Tristyn Cook 6.1
20 Cameron Suafoa 6.2
21 Finlay Christie 7.0
22 Harry Plummer 6.5
23 Cole Forbes 5.9

Crusaders

15 Will Jordan 6.7
14 Chay Fihaki 8.3
13 Dallas McLeod 6.7
12 David Havili 7.3
11 Sevu Reece 6.9
10 Taha Kemara 6.8
9 Kyle Preston 7.3
1 Tamaiti Williams 7.0
2 Ioane Moananu 7.2
3 Fletcher Newell 6.8
4 Scott Barrett 7.0
5 Antonio Shalfoon 7.0
6 Cullen Grace 7.3
7 Tom Christie 8.2
8 Christian Lio-Willie 8.3
16 Matt Moulds 6.4
17 George Bower 7.5
18 Seb Calder 6.4
19 Quinten Strange 5.9
20 Corey Kellow 6.5
21 Noah Hotham 6.9
22 James O'Connor 6.8
23 Macca Springer 7.0