Caleb Clarke scored a hat-trick to help his Blues side defeat the Crusaders 29-13 last night.
The hosts rebounded from last week’s narrow defeat in Canberra, putting themselves into the top four for the time being.
It was the Blues’ wingers in action early as the hosts took a commanding 19-3 lead after 21 minutes.
All Black Caleb Clarke picked up where he left off last week, scoring twice in the first nine minutes.
It came after the Crusaders were reduced to 14 players following a high shot from Dom Gardiner, which cancelled out Jamie Hannah’s try.
The Blues made a late switch to elevate Beauden Barrett into the starting side in his first appearance of 2026, and it paid dividends with one of the finishes of the year.
Barrett produced a stabbing kick for Codemeru Vai, who showed great athleticism to collect the ball and touch down within inches of the in-goal sideline.
However, a yellow card to Clarke for a deliberate knock-down allowed the Crusaders to mount a late first-half charge and reduce the lead to six at the break.
Codie Taylor scored their opening try of the game, followed by Rivez Reihana, who started and finished an electric move after putting in the initial kick before diving over from Noah Hotham’s flick pass.
Clarke returned to the field after the break and quickly made up for his infringement, completing his hat-trick and giving the Blues a 12-point lead.
It allowed the hosts to control the rest of the contest as their defence shut out any half-chances from the defending champions.
The Crusaders’ best chance came with ten minutes remaining, with a clutch tackle dislodging the ball right under the posts.
Barrett’s late penalty put the result beyond doubt, ending a four-game drought at Eden Park against the Crusaders.
Meanwhile, the result leaves the reigning premiers desperate for victory ahead of next week’s southern derby against the Highlanders, who earlier defeated the Western Force.
In other games, the ACT Brumbies lost to the Reds 34-31, and the Force lost to the Highlanders 39-31.
Source: Stuff NZ
