WELLINGTON: There were no knights riding around the pitch beforehand but it was business as usual on the scoreboard as the Canterbury Crusaders rallied to thrash the ACT Brumbies 36-14 on Saturday in their first home match since the Christchurch shootings.
Because of the associations with the medieval religious wars between Christians and Muslims, the Crusaders have embarked on a review of their name and branding in the wake of the shootings at two mosques on March 15 that killed 50 people. There was not facade of a castle at pitchside either but the ground, where the Crusaders have played since the 2011 earthquake flattened much of Christchurch and rendered their old stadium unsafe, has long been a fortress in rugby terms.The Brumbies had not won in Christchurch in a decade but gave as good as they got in a frenetic first half without managing initially to breach the home try line, lock Murray Douglas coming closest only to spill the ball.
Reece took only four minutes after the break to score the converted try that levelled up the scores and a further 10 minutes later Jordan crossed in the corner for his first.