Lucky Win For The Crusaders Over The Force

There's relief in the Crusaders camp after a lucky victory over the Force in Perth.  

After a lacklustre second half, the Crusaders have clinched a dramatic 20-19 victory courtesy of a late Jordan Taufua try in the 77th minute.

Assistant coach Dave Hewett insists the Force made it tough.

"I thought the Force in the second half played exceptionally well and put us under a lot of pressure."

He said he's "relieved" they managed the one point victory.     

Meanwhile, Chiefs coach Dave Rennie's praising his side's resilience after emerging with a 29-23 Super Rugby win over the Blues in Hamilton.

The home side was forced to come from 10 points down in the second spell after being run ragged by the Blues in the opening 20 minutes.

"We did what we've done all year - we got down there and scored almost twice immediately and went into half time in front and we may not have deserved that," said Rennie.   

Blues coach Tana Umaga said they made crucial errors that prevented them from winning.

"We were chucking it round before that and getting some rewards for that, so what do you do?  Do you go away from something that's working for you?"

The Chiefs have taken a seven point lead over the Highlanders and Crusaders at the top of the New Zealand conference.

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