Rugby: Crusaders rally to beat Lions

Crusaders winger Zac Guildford, left, avoids a tackle from Jaco Taute, of the Lions, during their...
Crusaders winger Zac Guildford, left, avoids a tackle from Jaco Taute, of the Lions, during their match at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Summary
The Crusaders have staged a second-half fightback to defeat the Lions 23-13 at Ellis Park to secure their third victory from five Super Rugby matches this season.

The Lions scored their only try four minutes before halftime as they claimed a 13-10 lead at the break but struggled to get out of their territory in the second period as the Crusaders forwards took control.

The New Zealanders regained the lead four minutes after the restart as wing Sean Maitland ran on to a good kick from fullback Israel Dagg after the Lions suffered a costly turnover deep in their own half.

Centre Tom Taylor, playing at flyhalf for much of the second period after Dan Carter went off, booted the conversion to make the score 17-13.

Taylor then failed with a 50-metre penalty attempt but made amends with three-point efforts in the 48th and 63rd minutes to wrap up victory.

"We were really disappointed with our start, we were really inaccurate. But we played with better intent in the second half after sitting back in the first half," Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder told a news conference.

"We had good field position and we wanted to be a lot more direct and go through the middle.

"But we absolutely let a bonus point slip because we were really inaccurate, which is frustrating."

Earlier, the South Africans dominated the first half as they kept possession for long periods.

There were a couple of promising breaks by the home side but captain and flanker Josh Strauss passed straight to an opponent with the try line in sight and lock Franco van der Merwe was held up by scrumhalf Andy Ellis on the brink of a touchdown.

Flyhalf Butch James booted the Lions in front after 19 minutes before Taylor replied two minutes later.

Crusaders wing Zac Guildford notched the opening try of the game in the 31st minute when he raced on to Carter's slick pass after excellent work by centre Robbie Fruean.

The Lions then bounced back as prop Pat Cilliers touched down after bursting away from the back of a ruck.

"The moments after half-time were the turning point. We just didn't control possession and we weren't accurate enough. It's very obvious our lineout's not working as we'd like and it's unacceptable," Lions coach John Mitchell said.

The struggling South Africans have won one of their five Super Rugby matches this season.

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