Crusaders light up Twickers

New Zealand fly-half Dan Carter scored 22 points as Crusaders beat the Sharks 44-28 in the first Super Rugby match played in the Northern Hemisphere.

The Crusaders outscored their South African rivals five tries to four in a sparkling encounter at Twickenham, as the All Black stars put their skills on show.

Carter and New Zealand centre Sonny Bill Williams were at the heart of most of Crusaders' attacking moves in a breathtaking first-half that yielded 52 points.

The New Zealanders withstood a fightback from the Sharks that saw them get within nine points at one stage, Sean Maitland putting it to bed with his second try 14 minutes from time.

For all the Crusaders' magical back play, the watching All Blacks coach Graham Henry will have been just as impressed by the scrummaging work of Wyatt Crockett, Corey Flynn and Owen Franks.

They did not have Richie McCaw on the openside but Matt Todd proved to be the latest top-class openside off the New Zealand conveyor belt.

Dazzled

That first-half scrum platform allowed the Crusaders' back division to cut loose and they did so to great effect with the Sharks dazzled by Williams' quick hands and Carter's vision.

It was actually the Sharks who made the first breakthrough, with their powerful openside flanker Willem Alberts crashing over the gainline and then stretching for the line.

But Williams had already set the tone by smashing through Jacques-Louis Potgieter and then sending Robbie Fruean away with an incredible offload.

The Sharks were penalised on their own line and Carter slotted the first of his three penalties before he and Williams combined to create the opening Crusaders try.

Williams set the move in motion, Carter released Zac Guildford with a deft inside ball and Brad Thorn supplied the scoring pass for Maitland.

A strong Crusaders shove then caused havoc in the Sharks ranks and Williams stepped inside Meyer Bosman before slipping the pass for Carter to score his 27th Super Rugby try under the posts.

Potgieter briefly stemmed the flow with a penalty but the Crusaders were in ruthless mood.

Scrum-half Andy Ellis collected the ball on the loop and combined with Fruean to send Israel Dagg over for their third try as the Crusaders opened a 27-10 lead in 26 minutes.

Comeback

The Kiwis continued their point-a-minute fest as Williams, Carter and Fruean left the Sharks defenders clutching at thin air to send Guildford over.

A lax moment from kick-off allowed Potgieter to score the Sharks' second and the South Africans mounted a comeback after the interval as Alistair Hargreaves stretched for the line.

Odwa Ndungane profited from Dagg's careless decision to take a quick lineout as the Sharks sealed their try bonus point but the Crusaders, despite losing Kieran Read and Carter, saw out the victory.

Ospreys-bound scrum-half Kahn Fotuali'i opened the gap for Guildford and he drew the last man before sending Maitland away for the clinching try.

The match, which featured 25 internationals in the two starting line-ups, was the centrepiece to a week of fundraising for the Red Cross earthquake appeal.

Donations from the 35,094 ticket sales alone will total £175,470.