THE Nashua Crusaders produced a stellar second-half performance to out-muscle and out-play the Hillcrest Villagers Rugby Club in the opening round of the Castle Murray Cup on Saturday. Playing away from home, the boys from the North ran in eight tries (five tries scored in the second half) to one, winning 47-8.

The game was officiated by former international referee, Marius Jonker, who set the tone at the start of the first half, sin-binning ‘Saders captain Shandon Carter and Cohen Wortley within the first 20 minutes of the opening half for deliberately knocking the ball down and a tip tackle respectively.

This allowed the home side to gain the ascendancy with a penalty from Mitch Coe, which put them 3-0 ahead. A fantastic break from S’phuxolo Zaula, who scored two tries in the game, saw Kurtly Johnson canter in for the first try of the game. The Villagers hit back with a try of their own, however, it was their only reprieve as the premier division stamped their authority all over the clash.

Tries from Jasper Genis, Willem Rheeder, Angelo Minetti, Brandon Bailing and Troy Chiochetti effectively sealed the game for the Crusaders.

Dale Farnham, assistant coach of the ‘Saders, said he was extremely happy with his team’s performance overall.

“We were slow to start off, which allowed the Villagers to gain the ascendancy. Being put on the back foot was exactly the thing the team needed, I think it was a good wake-up call. We eventually got into the game and stuck to our structures and as the game progressed we pulled further and further ahead. We looked after the ball well in the second half and the proof is in the pudding, which saw us score five unanswered tries,” he said.