Try of the year?...Or decade...? Or century...?

Crusaders’ wing Leicester Fainga’anuku performs astonishing act of agility to get mad touchdown in the corner

WHAT A TRY: The Chiefs' Damian McKenzie can't stop Crusaders wing Leicester Fainga'anuku from scoring a spectacular try in Saturday's round three Super Rugby Aotearoa game between the sides in Christchurch. 

“We ain't lying right now. You may NEVER see a better finish than this!”, shrieked the official Super Rugby Twitter account.

And they may not be wrong.

The Crusaders’ Leicester Fainga’anuku performed an astonishing act of agility to get the touchdown in the corner and keep his out-of-bounds feet off the ground in their 39-17 Super Rugby Aotearoa victory over the Chiefs in Christchurch.

It delivered another bonus point win for the Crusaders, which sees them clear at the top of the New Zealand table with three wins in a row. But all the post-match debate centred around Fainga’anuku’s 16th minute try.

“Do we have an early contender for try of the year? Or decade? Perhaps century?,” tweeted the Crusaders after?

A break by midfielder David Havili put his left winger in space with only the Chiefs’ Damien McKenzie between him and the corner pole. Somehow, despite a huge effort by McKenzie, Fainga’anuku launched into space and managed to score without brushing the turf.

“A mental finish,” concluded Irish legend Brian O’Driscoll.

Do we have an early contender for try of the year? Or decade? Perhaps century? 🔥🔥 camera work from @skysportnz #CRUvCHI #NelsonExpress pic.twitter.com/5ylZeLPS18

— Crusaders (@crusadersrugby) March 13, 2021

The frustrated Chiefs fell to their eleventh successive defeat after going 10-0 up, but were left seething by a decision by the officials that changed the shape of the game. Crusaders out half Richie Mo'unga looked to have passed forward but the TMO did not call it, and from the resultant move the Crusaders were awarded a penalty try and a yellow card.

The Crusaders, with Mo’unga majestic, ran in five tries in all, with the Chiefs going over for a late consolation try with six minutes left courtesy of Etene Nanai-Seturo.

Crusaders 39 (Leicester Fainga'anuku, penalty try, Will Jordan, Whetukamokamo Douglas, Mitchell Dunshea tries; Richie Mo'unga 2 cons, 2 pens, Fergus Burke con); 

Chiefs 17 (Damian McKenzie, Etene Nanai-Seturo tries; McKenzie 2 cons, pen).