The Blues beat the Reds 34-29 in an entertaining nine-try match at Apia Park in Samoa after Stephen Perofeta’s late try, sealed the come-from-behind victory on Friday night.
This was a historic first Super Rugby match for the Pacific island nation and the game did not disappoint.
The match was a see-sawing affair, with the Blues dominant in the first-half, leading by eight at the break.
However, the Reds turned around the first-half deficit and led by two with five minutes to play after enjoying over 80 percent possession, entering the last quarter.
Hunt saves Crusaders
Mitchell Hunt’s last-gasp drop-goal gave the Crusaders a 25-22 win over the Highlanders at AMI Stadium in Christchurch.
Moments earlier, Hunt had kicked a 76th-minute penalty to tie the game at 22-all, after Waisake Naholo’s early second-half double gave his team a three-point lead.
The visitors dominated the second 40 minutes, that is until Hunt’s little cameo at the end.
Despite all the changes made to the Crusaders’ starting line-up, this was an intense Kiwi derby. The home team raced to a 12-0 lead inside 15 minutes, thanks to Mitchell Drummond and Seta Tamanivalu.
But, on 25 minutes, Heiden Bedwell-Curtis’ received a yellow card. The Highlanders used their extra man advantage well, scoring 10 points, with a try from Richard Buckman and the boot of Marty Banks.
Bedwell-Curtis returned to make it 19-10 at the break. The visitors came out flying in the second half, scoring two tries in quick succession from Naholo to give them a 19-22 lead, one they could not keep.
