Crusaders crush hapless Highlanders

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Richie Mo’unga scored 22 points as the Crusaders recorded their first win of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, annihilating the Highlanders in the opening fixture of the Melbourne Super Round on Friday.

Fresh off a 40-point hiding from the Blues, the Highlanders’ woes continued after a vengeful Crusaders side ran in seven tries at AAMI Park to beat the men from Dunedin 52-15.

Winger Sevu Reece scored the Crusaders’ first try after latching onto an offload from captain Scott Barrett.

The defending champions added two more tries before the close of the first half courtesy of fullback Curtis Burke and prop Joe Moody, with Mo’unga slotting both conversions to make it 24-3 for the Crusaders heading into the break.

Smelling blood, the Crusaders turned up the heat as they ran in four more tries after the break.

A try from Mo’unga opened the scoring in the second half, followed by tries from Codie Taylor, David Havili and Leicester Fainga’anuku.

One of few highlights for the Highlanders came in the final ten minutes when centre Josh Timu ran in two consolation tries to cap off a disappointing loss to the Crusaders.

In round three, the Crusaders are on the road against Fijian Drua while the Highlanders travel to Hamilton to face the Chiefs.

Photo: Twitter/@SuperRugby

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