Crusaders rally past Force

Crusaders: Left it late

The Crusaders struck twice in the final 10 minutes to claim a thrilling 42-30 victory over Western Force in Perth.

The seven-time Super Rugby champions had dominated the early stages to take a 12-0 lead but still had to overturn a late deficit to grab the win.

Corey Flynn and Kahn Fotuali'i both crossed the try-line late on as the visitors opened up an eight-point gap over the seventh-placed Waratahs as they look to secure a place in the finals.

Full-back Israel Dagg had earlier grabbed a double inside the first eight minutes, while Sonny-Bill Williams also scored before the half-time break.

Cameron Shepherd scored a pair of tries for the Force and James O'Connor kicked five penalties, but in the end the Australian outfit could not do enough to secure a third win in a row.

The opening try came only three minutes in as Sean Maitland broke a tackle before finding Dagg to score on his inside.

Score

The 23-year-old then evaded several tackles to score his second try shortly after, with Matt Berquist successfully adding the extras after missing his first attempt.

O'Connor brought the Force back into the contest with three penalty goals, and they took the lead after working the ball to Shepherd for his first try midway through the half.

The Crusaders were soon back in front, however, as Dagg broke through once again to play-in Williams under the posts to make it 22-16 after just 29 minutes. An O'Connor penalty cut the deficit to three at half-time.

The two sides traded penalties shortly after the break, while Crusaders captain Richie McCaw - making his first run-on appearance of the season - was shown a yellow card.

Force managed to reclaim the lead as Shephard completed his brace, before O'Connor slotted another penalty through the posts to make it 30-25.

However, Berquist reduced the deficit with a penalty of his own soon after before Flynn and Fotuali'i crossed late on to wrap up the points.