Force

The Force started the match brightly, with In-form winger Manasa Mataele racing in for the first try of the match in the eighth minute.

The free-flowing scoring continued in the early stages, with Blues fly-half and All Blacks star Beauden Barrett narrowing the margin to five with a straightforward penalty goal in the 12th minute.

The Blues hit the front in the 19th minute courtesy of a close-range Sam Darry try.

Akira Ioane stormed over in the 21st minute, with AJ Lam adding a third try in the 29th minute, as the Blues took a 22-8 lead into half time.

The Tongans set the tone through the early exchanges with some bully ball, sending countless ball carriers up the middle and causing the Force some defensive headaches.

It worked, too, as the home side gifted James Faiva two shots at goal.

He missed the first but duly slotted the second, drawing first blood for a hodgepodge Tongan outfit.

The Force responded with interest, crossing through Rod Davies, Andrew Deegan and Marcel Brache, the last try a particularly soft effort from the Tongans.

The Reds needed a win to stay alive in the race for the Australian conference, but the Force overran them with 17 unanswered points in the second half.

A late yellow card to winger Eto Nabuli - who made needless high contact with Force five-eighth Peter Grant, as he collected a high ball with less than 15 minutes to go - cruelled any chance of a Queensland comeback.

Test hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau came off the bench to seal it for the Force with his 70th-minute try, while Grant's fourth penalty of the night was the final nail in the coffin.

The Force led 19-13 until the 78th minute when the Crusaders scored a late try through Jordan Taufua.

The visitors still trailed by a point but Richie Mo'unga slotted the conversion with ease to give his side their sixth win of the season.

Just 10-6 up early in the second half, and with the Western Force hard on their line, the Hurricanes hardly seemed destined for a big bonus-point win.

But by the time the final whistle blew at Palmerston North's CET Arena on Friday night, the Hurricanes had emerged 41-6 victors.