Western Force suffered their third defeat of the season going down 55-33 to the Crusaders in their SMARTECH Super Rugby Pacific Round 5 clash at Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch.
The Force have never won in Christchurch and were just two points down, 20-18, at the break before the Crusaders went on a 35-point scoring spree, bursting clear in the opening 20 minutes of the second half.
The home side crossed for four first-half tries, doubles to both wingers Macca Springer and Sevu Reece, and five in the second period - Springer with three more, Reece adding his third and full-back Will Jordan grabbing one of his own.
The Force crossed four times through full-back Mac Grealy, flanker Will Harris, captain Jeremy Williams and winger Harry Potter. Fly-half Max Burey kicked 11 points, reserve Coby Miln a conversion.
The Force, seen by some as being undermanned after coach Simon Cron made a raft of changes from the side that went down 34-10 to the Waratahs in the previous round, refused to be dominated in the first-half.
They were solid and connected, their back row caused mischief at the breakdown with good line speed and aggressive counter-rucking.
They charged hard and straight at the line and gave some nice off-loads while the scrum stood up to the heavier home side pack.
But after the break, in a huge momentum shift, they began to fall off tackles, allowed line breaks and created few chances of their own.
The Force banked three early points with Max Burey splitting the posts from a scrum penalty within two minutes
But the Crusaders grabbed the first try, shifting the ball wide for Springer to cross in the corner.
The Force replied almost immediately and took the lead when a line bust by Harris and some nice hands saw Grealy wrestle his way over.
Springer grabbed his second to give the home side a two-point lead on 18 minutes.
Chasing a chip-kick, he got the bounce of the ball on the line and touched down, before Burey gave the Force a one-point lead with his second penalty.
The scoreboard kept ticking over when the Crusaders midfield worked well to give Reece an easy run home in the corner.
Yet again the lead changed hands when Harris forced his way over after Issak Fines-Leleiwasa took a quick tap from a penalty. Burey converted.
Reece scored his second a couple of minutes before half-time when the visitors slipped off a couple of tackles, but poor kicking by Taha Kemara, who missed all four conversions, left the Force within touching distance.
The Force had a disastrous start to the second-half when a turnover saw Reece pick from a ruck and run home. Kamara converted before Burey narrowed the lead to six points with a penalty.
Springer then grabbed a quickfire treble, James O'Connor converting all three.
The Force finally crossed the line when a patient build-up saw Williams bounce over but Jordan hit back with O'Connor adding the extras.
Potter scored the final points of the day with a fine 60-metre individual effort. Miln converted.
Crusaders 55
Tries: Springer (12',18', 50', 53', 58'), Reece (26', 37', 41'), Jordan (71')
Conversions: Kamara 1/5, O'Conner 4/4
Penalties: Nil
Western Force 33
Tries: Grealy (14'), Harris (32'), Williams (67'), Potter (76')
Conversions: Burey 1/3, Miln 1/1
Penalties: Burey 3/4
Western Force Match Report, Powered by Altrad
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