Crusaders cruise into semis

Williams: Crucial first-half try

The Crusaders will take on the Stormers in the Super Rugby semi-finals after they hammered the Sharks 36-8 at Trafalgar Park.

The New Zealanders crossed three times through Sonny Bill Williams, Kieran Read and Ben Franks while Dan Carter added 19 points with the boot.

The Sharks had taken a surprise early lead through a Willem Alberts score but otherwise had only a Patrick Lambie penalty at the start of the second-half to show for their efforts.

The 'Saders led 13-5 at half time but were able to turn it up a notch in the second period with the visitors seldom threatening to fight back into contention.

It was always going to be a tough task for the Sharks against a team that has never lost a home knock-out game. The extra-long trip to New Zealand didn't help matters but there'll be no excuses from the Durban outfit as few will deny that the hosts were the stronger side on the day.

The Crusaders were handed a gift in the first minute when Dan Carter was allowed to open the scoring from the kicking tee when Willem Alberts infringed at the first ruck.

Sharks try

The Sharks were first to cross the whitewash however when Alberts powered over on the ten-minute mark. Scrum-half Charl McLeod broke clear through the middle of a line-out before linking up with Keegan Daniel. The flank was stopped just short but Alberts had the strength burrow his way over in the follow up.

Errors continued to hamper the opening half-hour and the home fans where wondering exactly what was going on when Carter missed his second kick to leave the Sharks in front.

The Crusaders took control of the last ten minutes of the half however. Another huge scrum was at the origin of their first try as they could spread the ball wide from a turnover. Sean Maitland's jink inside had the Sharks defenders wrong-footed and Williams ran the perfect angle to slice through and score.

Williams was to thank for the hosts' next three points too, but he shouldn't be proud of his soccer-style theatrics that fooled ref Bryce Lawrence into awarding a penalty for a 'late' tackle. As a result, the Crusaders took an eight-point lead into the half-time break.

The visitors only points of the second half came early on when Lambie landed a penalty but it was one-way traffic until the final whistle as the Crusaders kept the South African team pinned in their own half.

Carter added a penalty before Kieran Read's intercept try gave his side a 15-point lead with half-an-hour to play.

A few more penalties from Carter and a late try from close range by replacement prop Franks sealed victory for the increasingly dominant Crusaders.