Crusaders shrug off sluggish start to swat the Force aside

Despite a slow start to the game, the Crusaders eventually hit full stride and cantered to a 15-53 win over the Force at HBF Park in Super Rugby on Saturday.

The Saders were looking to avoid back-to-back Super Rugby defeats for the first time since 2018.

The Force got on the board first via a sixth minute Jake Strachan penalty but found themselves behind six minutes later.

A quick tap penalty caught the Australians off guard and allowed Leicester Fainga'anuku to break through the line and score.

It didn't take them long to get back amongst it, though, as Kyle Brown put through a lovely grubber for the onrushing Strachan in the 16th minute, who beat Fainga'anuku to the ball to score.

He couldn't convert his try but it was still enough to give them an 8-7 lead.

The entertaining end-to-end brawl continued in the 28th minute when Richie Mo'unga made space by stepping past Bryon Ralston and drawing in Strachan before putting Fainga'anuku away for the try.

Mo'unga missed the conversion but kicked a penalty eight minutes later to secure the Crusaders a 13-8 lead.

That was extended on the stroke of halftime when Bryn Hall shifted play to the left to Will Jordan, who drew in the defence before sending a long skip pass out to an unmarked Fainga'anuku, who ran in to complete his hattrick.

Another missed conversion left the score at 18-8 to the Crusaders at halftime.

The Force kept up the pressure after the break with Fergus Lee-Warner following up after Issak Fines-Leleiwasa went close, sniping around the base of the ruck to catch the Crusaders napping.

The first successful conversion of the game brought the Australian side within three points.

However, that try seemed to spark something in the Crusaders, who hit back with a vengeance, scoring