KEY POINTS:
Blues 34 Crusaders 25
The Blues shrugged off their brittle reputation and the tenacious Super 14 champions to kickstart their latest campaign.
But the Eden Park hosts had to endure an anxious last 10 minutes without their new captain Troy Flavell who was sinbinned by referee Paul Honiss for what he considered to be over-vigorous rucking.
Had Honiss' eyesight and that of his linesmen been as sharp in the first half the Blues might have been in greater trouble as they seemed to benefit from a number of decisions.
Blues coach David Nucifora was disappointed his skipper was carded, he thought Flavell was trying to shift Crusaders who were lying over the ball.
However Nucifora was encouraged by the steel his side showed last night in both attack and defence.
"I thought we were two or three tries short of where we could have been but we played football tonight. I was pleased how we controlled the game and I thought we made a lot of the running and I was disappointed we did not score a few more tries."
After the troubles of last year, the Blues will be hugely relieved to claim a victory from the Crusaders who were shorn of seven All Blacks and had a far less experienced side than their hosts but contributed hugely in a frantic opening to the new season.
Eventually the Blues eked out the victory because they had a few more moments of individual brilliance and their pack had more unison.
The under-powered Crusaders missed more tackles and made more mistakes than usual but their endurance and grit always kept them in the game and suggested they could continue an unbeaten domestic sequence which dated back to late 2004.
The decision to switch Isa Nacewa to first five-eighths paid off mightily for the Blues, especially in the first half when he kicked all five attempts at goal, ran his backline well and also managed to chase down Crusaders wing Scott Hamilton when he looked like he would score from an intercept.
The Blues forwards were able to create consistent momentum for much of this time and when the Crusaders infringed, Nacewa was on target.
Flavell, his locking partner Greg Rawlinson and No 8 Jerome Kaino were prominent in the driving play from the pack which was in control in most areas except the scrums.
In a rare Anthony Tuitavake foray, the wing broke through close to the ruck and linked expertly with Flavell who sent Isaia Toeava to the line though Honiss and his linesmen were lenient with some of the passing interplay.
The Blues built their lead steadily to 19-9 in the shade of halftime and could have been expected to pull away. But the hosts ruined that advantage when David Gibson had his clearing kick charged down near his line and visiting skipper Corey Flynn battered his way over.
Blues 34 ( I. Toeava, R. Wulf, D. Howlett, tries: I. Nacewa, 2 con, 5 pen
Crusaders 25 (C. Flynn, M. Tuiali'i, R. Gear, tries; S. Brett 2 con, B. Ward 2 pen). HT: 19-13.
