THE Crusaders’ wingers crossed eight times between them as Macca Springer tied Sean Wainui’s record for most tries in a Super Rugby game.
Flyers Sevu Reece (three tries) and Springer (five) tormented the Force in Christchurch on Saturday in a 55-33 victory.
It was the Crusaders’ (3-1) second impressive defeat of Australian opposition after last Sunday’s rout of the Queensland Reds, while the Force have lost three-straight games since beginning the season 2-0.
Simon Cron’s Force squad rested stars Nic White, Ben Donaldson, Hamish Stewart and Carlo Tizzano, while Dylan Pietsch (knee) and Nick Champion de Crespigny (concussion) were injured.
But they were in the thick of it early, three times taking the lead in the first half thanks to Mac Grealy and Will Harris tries and opportunistic penalty kicks.
Crusaders kicker Taha Kemara’s (one-of-five) shocker off the tee also helped the visitors stay in it. But Australian journeyman O’Connor, who debuted as a 17-year-old for the Force in 2008, replaced him at flyhalf after 50 minutes and quickly put the game out of reach.
He was generally elusive and set up Springer’s third with a neat dummy and dart through the line, before twice nailing sideline conversions as a 20-18 halftime lead quickly ballooned.
Reece and Springer were gifted a handful of their tries but did plenty of their own dirty work, both chipping ahead to themselves brilliantly to set up the latter’s fourth and fifth tries.
The Force return to Perth to host the Fijian Drua.
