Tom Taylor kicked the Crusaders to an unconvincing 25-19 win against the Rebels in Melbourne.
Much like last week's win over the Stormers, it wasn't pretty as it took 55 minutes before the game's first try was claimed by Ben Funnell.
But either side of that the assured place-kicking of Taylor ultimately proved to be the difference as his 20-point haul lifts his side up the Super Rugby standings going into their bye week.
The game as a spectacle was far from thrilling as Jason Woodward and Taylor's boot dominated the first half, with the interval scoreline being 12-9 in favour of the Crusaders after few try-scoring opportunities.
But after the break the Crusaders moved up a gear and when the ball was shifted out to the right wing, Kieran Read drew the last man before finding Funnell for the easy run-in. Taylor's conversion made it 22-12.
Taylor then added his seventh successful kick of the day on 69 minutes as the match looked to have been settled. However, the Rebels showed fight as Scott Fuglistaller went over off the back of a maul to give them slim hope with a minute left. It proved false.
Rebels – Try: Scott Fuglistaller. Conversion: Bryce Hegarty. Penalties: Jason Woodward (3), Hegarty.
Crusaders – Try: Ben Funnell. Conversion: Tom Taylor. Penalties: Taylor (6).
Rebels – 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Lachlan Mitchell, 13 Tamati Ellison, 12 Mitch Inman, 11 Tom English, 10 Bryce Hegarty, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Scott Higginbotham (c), 7 Scott Fuglistaller, 6 Sean McMahon, 5 Luke Jones, 4 Hugh Pyle, 3 Laurie Weeks, 2 Pat Leafa, 1 Toby Smith.
Subs: 16 Shota Horie, 17 Max Lahiff, 18 Paul Alo-Emile, 19 Cadeyrn Neville, 20 Colby Fainga'a, 21 Ben Meehan, 22 Angus Roberts, 23 Telusa Veainu.
Crusaders – 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Nafi Tuitavake, 13 Ryan Crotty, 12 Tom Taylor, 11 Johnny McNicholl, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Matt Todd, 6 Luke Whitelock, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Ben Funnell, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Subs: 16 Codie Taylor, 17 Tim Perry, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Dominic Bird, 20 Jordan Taufua, 21 Mitchell Drummond, 22 Kieron Fonotia, 23 Nemani Nadolo.
Photo: Matt King/Getty Images
