The Canterbury Crusaders will host the Super 14 final after they beat the Wellington Hurricanes 33-22 in Christchurch.

Leading 13-8 at halftime, the Crusaders overwhelmed a Wellington side starved of possession and territory, with the final scoreline flattering the visiting Hurricanes.

All Blacks fullback Leon MacDonald (pictured) was in great touch for the Crusaders and scored two tries, while flyhalf Dan Carter kicked three conversions and four penalties for a personal tally of 18 points.

Canterbury struggled to beat the Queensland Reds two weeks ago and lost to the Otago Highlanders in last week's final round of league play, leading to some questions regarding their form heading into the semi-finals.

However, they showed they are still the team to beat for this year's title after they wore down the Hurricanes and then unleashed their full attacking force.

Wellington struggled to make any impression on the Canterbury defence and two of their tries came from charge downs, while the third was scored after the siren had gone for fulltime.

Canterbury captain Richie McCaw said the Crusaders had set up the win with their first half dominance.

"When you've got the ball and you're breathing pretty hard you hope the defending team's breathing harder," he said.

"So we knew that if we put the pressure on and if we scored early in the second half we'd be in business and that's what happened."

Winger Zac Guildford got the Hurricanes off to the perfect start in the fourth minute when he launched a huge kick from his own 22 then charged down Carter's attempted clearance to score out wide.

Carter then kicked two penalties to put the Crusaders ahead, but despite dominating their opponents they could not break the Hurricanes' line.

Wellington hit the front with five minutes remaining in the first half with a penalty by scrumhalf Piri Weepu, but the relentless Crusaders pressure eventually told when MacDonald crossed under the posts just before the break.

When MacDonald grabbed his second try soon after the restart and Carter kicked a conversion and a penalty to make it 23-8, the signs were ominous for Wellington.

They somehow held on for another 25 minutes before flanker Kieran Read scrambled over in the arms of three tacklers to put the Crusaders out to a 30-8 lead.

Carter kicked yet another penalty to make it 33-8 before the Hurricanes made the score look a little more respectable with their two late tries.

The Crusaders will meet the winners of the second semi-final between New South Wales Waratahs and the Sharks being played in Sydney later on Saturday.

Reuters