The St.George Queensland Reds score the only try of their Super Rugby Final rematch against the Crusaders who come from behind to secure a narrow 15-11 victory in Christchurch.

 

Reds hooker James Hanson opened the scoring in the second minute of the match although the Queenslanders were eventually outdone by five Crusaders penalty goals resulting from a hefty 17-7 penalty count advantage in favour of the home side.

 

The Queenslanders entered the match with the right intent and strategy and led 11-9 with eight minutes remaining after dominating the breakdown and physical battle in defence.

 

Centre Anthony Faingaa made a major impact in his return to the starting lineup with the Reds midfield defence keeping the Crusaders tryless over the course of the 80 minutes.

 

The Reds looked bound to repeat their championship-winning heroics of 2011 by beating the Crusaders before two late penalty goals to flyhalf Tom Taylor gave his side a late advantage and the win.

 

“We did some really good things and did some really silly things and that’s what hurt us in the end,” captain James Horwill said.

 

“When we held the ball we pushed passes and we gave the Crusaders too much ball and let them off the hook a bit. 

 

“It would have been nice to get a win but we go back to Suncorp Stadium now to play the Chiefs.  It’s a massive game for us.”

 

Despite the loss the Reds can take plenty of positives from the match with their ball movement excellent and ability to find metres around the ruck pushing the Crusaders defensive line to the brink on numerous occasions.

 

Their efforts were rewarded in just the second minute when for the second straight week the Queenslanders enjoyed a dream start to the match, where they powered to a 5-0 lead with a close-range try near the left touchline.

 

The five-pointer was the only try of the game and came after a turnover from the opening kickoff before good continuity allowed Hanson to power his way over for an early lead.

 

It was the Crusaders however who went into the halftime break ahead 6-5 following two penalty goals despite Queensland enjoying 62% of possession and a healthy 63 breakdowns won compared to the Crusaders 17 in the opening 40 minutes.

 

Nasty blood bins to Scott Higginbotham (eye) and Ben Lucas (head) stuttered the team’s attack just before halftime although both were courageous in returning to the field in the second stanza to produce strong displays.

 

The star of 19-year-old flanker Liam Gill continues to rise with the breakdown scavenger producing another stellar game against the Richie McCaw led Crusaders to disrupt what quality ball the home side enjoyed throughout the match.

 

Gill was also responsible for drawing a key breakdown penalty minutes into the second half to allow the Reds to surge ahead 8-6, although it was short lived with Crusaders flyhalf Tom Taylor putting his side ahead only moments later with his third successful penalty.

 

Young front-rower Albert Anae also impressed after being injected into the match for the final 30 minutes against a strong Crusaders scrum, his efforts instrumental in a key scrum turnover midway through the second half while the Crusaders were on attack.

 

The Reds now turn their attention to a crucial game against the competition leading Chiefs next Sunday 13 May on Mother’s Day.

 

Tickets for the encounter can be purchased through www.ticketek.com.au.

 

Crusaders 15 (Tom Taylor 5 pens) def St.George Queensland Reds 11 (James Hanson try; Mike Harris 2 pens)