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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) ? The Canterbury Crusaders' long season on the road grew longer when they beat South Africa's Sharks 36-8 on Saturday to follow the Auckland Blues into the semifinals of rugby's Super 15.
The Crusaders' win over the Durban-based Sharks in the second elimination match, after Auckland's 26-13 win over the New South Wales Waratahs on Friday, earned them a semifinal with the Stormers in Cape Town. The Blues will play the Queensland Reds in Brisbane in the first of the two semifinals next Saturday.
Since a Feb. 22 earthquake struck their home town of Christchurch, wrecking their stadium and leaving 181 dead, the Crusaders have been rugby itinerants, playing all of their matches away from home.
They now face a trip of more than 11,000 kilometers (6,000 miles) from Christchurch to Cape Town to meet the Stormers in the hope of keeping their deeply disrupted season alive.
Throughout the season, the Crusaders players have had to cope with continuing aftershocks in Christchurch which have further damaged their homes or the homes of their families, and added to the sense of anxiety in New Zealand's second-largest city.
Their ability to reach Saturday's playoff and next week's semifinals after the traumas of the past four months, and after playing home matches at five venues as far-flung as London and Wellington, has brought some small relief to the people of their damaged town.
Coach Todd Blackadder said the need to travel to Cape Town for Saturday's match against the Stormers was not a concern for his team. They had become seasoned travellers in the past 16 weeks and long journeys such as the one they face this week held no fears for them.
"We're getting closer to the prize, that's what it all about," Blackadder said. "The guys are used to travelling so it's not a problem.
"We've shown this year we can travel and travel well. We've obviously done well over there earlier this year. It's always hard playing finals away from home but we're confident we can do it."
The Crusaders beat the Stormers 20-14 when they met at Newlands in Cape Town in May, demonstrating Canterbury's ability to beat even the toughest teams in the tournament away from home. The Reds beat the Blues 37-31 in their only regular season meeting at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium last month.
The Crusaders conceded the first try on Saturday to Stormers backrower Willem Alberts, who started ahead of Springboks star Ryan Kankowski. The Stormers dominated the first 30 minutes of the match but the Crusaders hit the lead with a 31st-minute try to All Blacks center Sonny Bill Williams and were never headed.
They led 13-5 at halftime and drew away in the second spell with tries to captain Kieran Read, from an intercept, and replacement prop Ben Franks. All Blacks flyhalf Dan Carter missed two of his first three shots at goal, then nailed six in succession to finish with 19 points.
The Blues' clash with the Waratahs at Auckland on Friday followed a similar pattern. The Waratahs had the best of the first 20 minutes but managed only a single try through center Tom Carter.
Auckland hit the front with a 24th-minute try to winger Lachie Munro and though New South Wales briefly regained the lead with a penalty to Kurtley Beale, a Munro penalty put the Blues ahead 10-8 after 33 minutes and they never relinquished the lead.
All Blacks lock Ali Williams added a second-half try in his best performance of the season, though his international locking partner Anthony Boric left the field with a foot injury and may miss next weekend's semifinal.
The match was typical of playoffs rugby, was grim and physical and bore little relation to the Blues' usual flashy attacking style. Williams said Auckland was happy to resort to no-frills rugby if it led to playoffs wins.
"You've got to learn from good teams," he said. "I don't know if its the Crusaders, it's rugby in general.
"You've got to grind out wins. Very few times do you win flashy. It's about building pressure, making teams make mistakes and capitalizing. It's not the prettiest of stuff."
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The Crusaders' win over the Durban-based Sharks in the second elimination match, after Auckland's 26-13 win over the New South Wales Waratahs on Friday, earned them a semifinal with the Stormers in Cape Town. The Blues will play the Queensland Reds in Brisbane in the first of the two semifinals next Saturday.
Since a Feb. 22 earthquake struck their home town of Christchurch, wrecking their stadium and leaving 181 dead, the Crusaders have been rugby itinerants, playing all of their matches away from home.
They now face a trip of more than 11,000 kilometers (6,000 miles) from Christchurch to Cape Town to meet the Stormers in the hope of keeping their deeply disrupted season alive.
Throughout the season, the Crusaders players have had to cope with continuing aftershocks in Christchurch which have further damaged their homes or the homes of their families, and added to the sense of anxiety in New Zealand's second-largest city.
Their ability to reach Saturday's playoff and next week's semifinals after the traumas of the past four months, and after playing home matches at five venues as far-flung as London and Wellington, has brought some small relief to the people of their damaged town.
Coach Todd Blackadder said the need to travel to Cape Town for Saturday's match against the Stormers was not a concern for his team. They had become seasoned travellers in the past 16 weeks and long journeys such as the one they face this week held no fears for them.
"We're getting closer to the prize, that's what it all about," Blackadder said. "The guys are used to travelling so it's not a problem.
"We've shown this year we can travel and travel well. We've obviously done well over there earlier this year. It's always hard playing finals away from home but we're confident we can do it."
The Crusaders beat the Stormers 20-14 when they met at Newlands in Cape Town in May, demonstrating Canterbury's ability to beat even the toughest teams in the tournament away from home. The Reds beat the Blues 37-31 in their only regular season meeting at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium last month.
The Crusaders conceded the first try on Saturday to Stormers backrower Willem Alberts, who started ahead of Springboks star Ryan Kankowski. The Stormers dominated the first 30 minutes of the match but the Crusaders hit the lead with a 31st-minute try to All Blacks center Sonny Bill Williams and were never headed.
They led 13-5 at halftime and drew away in the second spell with tries to captain Kieran Read, from an intercept, and replacement prop Ben Franks. All Blacks flyhalf Dan Carter missed two of his first three shots at goal, then nailed six in succession to finish with 19 points.
The Blues' clash with the Waratahs at Auckland on Friday followed a similar pattern. The Waratahs had the best of the first 20 minutes but managed only a single try through center Tom Carter.
Auckland hit the front with a 24th-minute try to winger Lachie Munro and though New South Wales briefly regained the lead with a penalty to Kurtley Beale, a Munro penalty put the Blues ahead 10-8 after 33 minutes and they never relinquished the lead.
All Blacks lock Ali Williams added a second-half try in his best performance of the season, though his international locking partner Anthony Boric left the field with a foot injury and may miss next weekend's semifinal.
The match was typical of playoffs rugby, was grim and physical and bore little relation to the Blues' usual flashy attacking style. Williams said Auckland was happy to resort to no-frills rugby if it led to playoffs wins.
"You've got to learn from good teams," he said. "I don't know if its the Crusaders, it's rugby in general.
"You've got to grind out wins. Very few times do you win flashy. It's about building pressure, making teams make mistakes and capitalizing. It's not the prettiest of stuff."
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