KEY POINTS:
The Crusaders had to roll out their big guns and eventually rely on two late tries to overcome a brave Queensland Reds side in their Super 14 rugby match at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane last night.
A try each by All Blacks Ali Williams and Daniel Carter, both
who came on as replacements, in the last four minutes gave them a 27-21 bonus point victory which virtually assured them the top spot in the competition with a round remaining.
The Crusaders will host South Island neighbours the Highlanders, who lost 15-40 to the Blues earlier last night, next Saturday in the final round-robin.
Even when regulars such as Carter, Williams, halfback Andrew Ellis, hooker Corey Flynn and prop Ben Franks came on, the Reds maintained their 21-8 lead, defended heroically and only folded when they had two players sinbinned.
The Crusaders dominated the game by as much as 80 per cent, including territory and possession, but failed to finish for various reasons.
They crossed the line on at least three occasions before promising flanker Kieran Read sparked a revival with a try in the 66th minute.
It took another 10 minutes before Williams rammed his way through and Carter converted from the sideline to give the Crusaders the lead - 22-21.
By then the Reds were two players down, with halfback Ben Lucas following winger Digby Ioane to the sinbin for blatant indiscretion and dangerous tackle respectively.
Playmaker Carter returned from injury after six weeks and came on in the 55th minute to pull his team out of jail in the pulsating finish to prevent one of the biggest upsets in the competition.
The Reds did have one chance to complete the boilover in the final minute when they had a second successive penalty on the Crusaders line but a Stephen Moore quick tap ended disastrously.
The Crusaders scored 19 unanswered points after Carter and company came off the bench.
When first five-eighth Quade Cooper stepped his way over to end 12 phases of concerted pressure, the Reds led 21-8 and were poised for victory.
But coach Robbie Deans steadied a sinking ship by ordering changes.
They hemmed the Reds in their own quarter for the rest of the match but desperate defence by Queensland only broke after Digby Ioane was sin-binned for a spear tackle on Casey Laulala.
Read crossed from the next play and Carter converted to make it 21-15.
With seven minutes left Lucas was shown the yellow card for a profession foul near the line and Williams scored out wide soon after.
Carter coolly slotted the wide conversion for a 22-21 lead and backed up to score a counter-attacking try minutes before fulltime.
The Reds were given a standing ovation as they left the field, with Berrick Barnes, David Croft and skipper James Horwill standing tallest of all.
"It was hard to swallow but I'm extremely proud of my team. They really battled against it," said Reds coach Phil Mooney.
"The courage was outstanding, everyone had a crack and it was outstanding."
Crusaders skipper Richie McCaw said he always believed the Reds were a gutsy team, capable of beating any side in the competition.
"We kept taking the pressure off (with mistakes) and they took all the advantage," McCaw said.
"I think in the first half we weren't getting urgently to the breaks downs and when we got the ball we tossed it away and just silly little things like that made it very tough."
The Reds shot out to a 14-5 lead when in-form winger Peter Hynes finished a fine team try after skipper Horwill had crossed in the 12th minute.
Crusaders winger Kade Poki scored the game's opening try in the eighth minute and Stephen Brett added a penalty for their only points before halftime.
- NZPA