Crusaders turn up the heat against the Reds

Memo all other Super 12 sides: The Crusaders have warmed to their task. Warm was the operative word in Nelson yesterday anyway but the Crusaders turned up the heat further in their hottest hit-out so far.

The Reds, who know something about heat, melted in the face of a sustained Crusaders blowtorching which saw them ahead in the lineout, superior at the scrum and they roasted the Reds in rucks and mauls to set up turnover ball.

Once they had it, they strung passes together with impressive continuity and penetration and, even 20 minutes into the first half, the Reds began to look like they would rather have been paddling at nearby Tahunanui Beach or even eating cane toad sandwiches.

Instead, they were forced to endure the heat from the Crusaders' kitchen where Aaron Mauger, Richie McCaw and Justin Marshall were in superb all-round form. Marshall had one of those games where his runs were timed well and his passes to support players even better.

McCaw showed that the gulf in loose-forward play between Canterbury and Queensland is about as wide as the Tasman Sea and Greg Somerville was Commanding Officer, Scrums.

In the backs, Casey Laulala - until he went off with a crocked shoulder - ran strongly and passed better than in previous weeks. Rico Gear looked the most dangerous runner on the field both on the wing and at centre, where he moved after Laulala went off, and Mauger made devastating cuts in midfield.

The Reds' frustration showed with penalties at ruck and maul, which Daniel Carter gratefully popped over, before the Crusaders began to unlock the Reds' defence which conceded tries to Laulala, Mauger, Carter and Gear. It was 35-5 at halftime.

Yet it looked, in the early minutes, as if the Reds might be competitive when in-form centre Junior Pelesasa gave Carter a big push in the mush with a fend to score in the corner.

But it was a misleading beginning and the Crusaders had the match won by halftime, which they signalled by taking off Carter, Marshall, Somerville and various others to give the bench some meaningful game time.

McCaw was the best all-round player on the pitch by quite a margin.

Mauger made the best breaks and the best try of the match with a slashing run out of defence which ended in a comfortable try for McCaw.

The Reds, for whom Nathan Sharpe never stopped and Wendell Sailor made some good runs, managed three tries in the second half, including a bonus point try to Pelesasa - but only when the game was all over.

Crusaders 59
(R. Gear 2, C. Laulala, A. Mauger, D. Carter, R. McCaw, S. Hamilton, A. Mehrtens tries; Carter 4 cons, 3 pens; Mehrtens con).
Reds 24
(J. Pelesasa 2, G. Holmes, C. Latham tries; J. Huxley 2 cons).