Crusaders player ratings: ‘Spellbinding’ Will Jordan ‘single-handedly’ drags the champions close but All Blacks stars can’t finish the job
Crusaders and All Blacks duo Will Jordan and Codie Taylor.
Following a 25-23 defeat to the Highlanders in the Super Rugby Pacific clash at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Friday, here are the player ratings for the Crusaders.
15 Chay Fihaki: Wasn’t as effective as the Highlanders back three as he carried plenty but was generally well shackled by the hosts. Was moved to the wing but that didn’t necessarily improve matters. 6
14 Sevu Reece: Made metres and looked a threat at times but was generally outshone by Jona Nareki and Caleb Tangitau in a relatively quiet outing. 5
13 Braydon Ennor: Some classy touches but that Crusaders backline was pretty well shackled by the Highlanders until Will Jordan came on. 6
12 David Havili (c): Went off after 50 minutes following an generally underwhelming display. The defending champions needed more from their captain. 5
Hybrid experiment
11 Leicester Fainga’anuku: Was billed as being used as a hybrid player and there were elements of that. Didn’t go into the loose forwards – he was generally placed at centre off first phase – but Fainga’anuku was used close to the breakdown at times, where he carried, tipped the ball on and cleared out rucks. You could see what they were trying to do but there were just too many errors. 5
10 Rivez Reihana: While the outside backs weren’t exactly stellar, Reihana helped keep them in the game with his boot. Reihana was composed at fly-half and combined well with his playmaking partner. 7
9 Noah Hotham: Played the majority of the match with Kyle Preston only lasting a few minutes. Hotham was excellent for the most part, scoring a try in the first half and bringing pace to proceedings in the second. 8
8 Christian Lio-Willie: A mistaken-ridden display from the All Black, who was taken off alongside five others after 50 minutes. Lio-Willie had a great season in 2025, but this was not the greatest opening to the campaign. 5
Close to his best
7 Ethan Blackadder: Absolutely outstanding from the flanker as he put in a mammoth shift on both sides of the ball. Carried hard, put in some big hits and was a menace at the breakdown. This was Blackadder at close to his best. 8
6 Dom Gardiner: A big defensive shift from the flanker in what was a big battle between the loose forwards. Gardiner did plenty of good work around the field. 6
5 Jamie Hannah: Similar to Gardiner, you could not fault Hannah’s work ethic as the Crusaders forwards put in a significant effort in both the loose and set-piece. 7
4 Antonio Shalfoon: The Crusaders locks combined pretty well in tandem in this Super Rugby Pacific opener, but they couldn’t quite produce the match-defining contributions. 6
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3 Seb Calder: It was a pretty even between the two front-rows with the visitors keeping their All Blacks stars in reserve for the second half. 5
2 George Bell: One of six players replaced after 50 minutes but Bell was one of the better performers as he contributed around the field and in the lineout. 7
1 Finlay Brewis: Similar to Calder, the scrum battle was not too much of a factor in the contest, but it was not a poor showing from the two props. 5
Replacements: As expected, Codie Taylor, George Bower and Fletcher Newell made a significant impact in all facets, even if they couldn’t get total dominance over Ethan de Groot and co., but the biggest impact came from the incredible Jordan. The full-back was absolutely spellbinding and almost dragged his team back into the match single-handedly. Three clean breaks, over 100 metres made and a try – in basically 30 minutes of action – tells its own story. 9