The Highlanders will head home with their tails firmly between their legs after the Crusaders delivered a 37-point thumping in the first match of Super Round in Melbourne.
All told, the Crusaders collected seven tries on their way to a 52-15 win in round of Super Rugby Pacific.
It marked a massive turnaround for the Crusaders who suffered a surprise 31-10 first round loss to the Chiefs in Christchurch.
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For the Highlanders, it was the second defeat in a row after their 60-20 defeat to the Blues at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
The only saving grace for the Highlanders was that they escaped a record loss, coming close to their previous largest margin of defeat which was set in 2019 at 43 points.
The Crusaders stretched their legs to an enormous lead only for the Highlanders to score two late tries.
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It’s been a tough draw for the Highlanders, who will face the Chiefs in round three.
“We’ve just got to look at what we did well and just fix those areas that we didn’t quite get right,” said Highlanders captain Billy Harmon.
“It’s not the end of the world, second round in, so I promise it’ll get better.”
Asked whether the absence of All Blacks players had hurt the Highlanders, Harman replied, ‘Who knows?
“The people that are in place of them are top footballers so we back everyone in our squad.
“Tonight was a good chance to give people a crack and they played well.”
For Crusaders playmaker Richie Mo’unga, there was plenty to celebrate after week one’s woes.
Mo’unga Magic sets up slick Crusaders try
“It was awesome to get the win, but more importantly to play some footy,” said Mo’unga.
“The Cheifs played all the footy last week and we wanted to come out and impose ourselves against the Highlanders, so I think we did a good job.
“I was pretty disappointed in myself as a driver last week, not putting ourselves in the right areas of the field, so today is very satisfying.
“More satisfying in the fact that we’ve got a new Crusader, Noah Hotham, for him to be part of this special club now, is awesome to be a part of and awesome to get the win for him.”
Sevu Reece opened the scoring for the Crusaders in the 13th minute before Fergus Burke crossed the line in the 32nd minute.
Joe Moody scored just short of halftime and that momentum continued into the second half when Mo’unga score just 60 seconds in the second half.
Tries from David Havili, Codie Taylor, and Leicester Fainga’anuku threatened to make it a record defeat for the Highlanders, only for Josh Timu to score back-to-back and save the southern-most team some respect.
While the Highlanders will take on the Chiefs in round three on March 10 in Hamilton, the Crusaders will head to Fiji where they will face the Drua.
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