Escape artists Crusaders compound Blues' misery
The Canterbury Crusaders sealed their reputation as Super Rugby's escape artists with a come-from-behind 33-24 win over the Auckland Blues in Christchurch.
In their third last-gasp victory in as many weeks, the injury-hit Crusaders overturned a 19-point deficit to remain unbeaten after four rounds.
They were down 24-5 early in the second half but overwhelmed the Blues to extend their winning streak over the Aucklanders to six straight matches.
The Crusaders were down three tries to one at the break but roared back with four unanswered tries in the second half.
"It'd be quite nice if we started before half time," quipped captain Sam Whitelock, whose team also trailed by 21 points against the Queensland Reds and 17 against the Otago Highlanders before charging home in both games.
The result displayed the Crusaders' depth, with the seven-time champions missing All Blacks Israel Dagg, Seta Tamanivalu and Matt Todd, as well as ex-Wallaby Digby Ioane.
It means the Blues have not won away against a New Zealand rival since March 2013 and they have not won in Christchurch since 2004.
They now have just one win from four and are rooted at the bottom of the New Zealand conference.
It was poor reward for a committed first-half display after the Blues received a public tongue-lashing from coach Tana Umaga during the week about their insipid form.
Skipper Jamie Parsons praised his team's commitment but said they "didn't click in the second 40".
"It hurts, but the reality is we've got next week against the Bulls and we've got to bounce back," he said.
"The season's certainly not over. I know people are going to say that but in our camp we're very positive."
The signs looked ominous for the Blues when they fumbled the ball at the kick-off, but they went on to rattle the Crusaders with their attacking intent.
Eliminating the errors and poor discipline of previous weeks, they scored three first-half tries, two of them to hard-running centre George Moala.
Crusaders' debutant Manasa Mataele, called up to replace his injured uncle All Black Seta Tamanivalu, put the home side on the board but they trailed 21-5 at half time.
The Crusaders made a flurry of substitutions after the break and improvements in the forwards saw Peter Samu and Ben Funnell score tries off driving mauls.
They hit the lead with seven minutes to go when Mitchell Hunt converted his own try, then Mitchell Drummond put it beyond doubt with another five-pointer in the last minute.