Digby Ioane began Crusaders’ rout of the Force with first of seven tries in Christchurch

CRUSADERS OVERWHELMED WESTERN Force with a 45-17 bonus-point win in Christchurch this morning to maintain their unbeaten record and go top of the Super Rugby table.

Source: SANZAAR/YouTube

The Crusaders posted seven tries to two and kept the Force scoreless in the second half to make it five wins from five this season.

The seven-time champions led from the outset, heeding coach Scott Robertson’s demand that they score early after being forced to come from behind in their previous three matches.

It was a lopsided defeat the Force could have done without amid speculation the Perth club faces the axe as SANZAAR look to revamp the competition. But captain Jonno Lance refused to blame some tight refereeing calls that went against his team.

He praised the Force’s determination to play the ball, even though they failed to crack the Crusaders defence in the second half.

“You can get caught up trying to defend so you’re there or thereabouts (on the scoreboard) at the end,” he said, “but we wanted to come here and throw some punches and I think we did that.”

Former Reds star Ioane cruising in for his first try for the Kiwi outfit. Source: Photosport/Martin Hunter/INPHO

The Crusaders wasted no time scoring their first try, with Digby Ioane touching down in the third minute after Mitchell Drummond’s run set him up.

Matt Todd added a second 13 minutes later, driving his way to the base of the post after the Crusaders wore down the committed Force defence.

Force winger Alex Newsome hit back with a 70-metre try after intercepting a stray Todd pass, but it was a temporary reprieve before one-way traffic resumed.

Scott Barrett, shifted from lock to blindside flanker for the match, barged over the line taking three defenders with him. Luke Romano then pounced on the ball as the Force tried to recycle it in their own in-goal area, with referee Rohan Hoffmann ruling it a try.

Winger Chance Peni kept the Force within touching distance when he stretched out to score just before half-time, narrowing the gap to 28-17 at the break.

A rolling maul delivered the home side’s fifth try 10 minutes after the restart, with Codie Taylor crossing as the Crusaders’ forwards dominated their opposition.

The Force scrum then lifted to deliver 10 minutes of sustained pressure, resulting in Crusaders’ prop Tim Perry being sin-binned for repeated infringements. But the Crusaders held on, snuffing out any hope of an unlikely Force comeback, with tries to David Havili and Ben Funnell completing the rout in the final 10 minutes.