Carter's value to winning Crusaders clear

Todd Blackadder called the performance "average" and "inaccurate", but the Crusaders picked up valuable competition points with their 23-13 victory over the Lions in Johannesburg yesterday.

Another piece of good news for the Crusaders' coach was the fact All Black Dan Carter, starting his first game of the season after recovering from a serious groin injury, came through 60 minutes unscathed. While he was rusty and did not take a shot at goal - Tom Taylor was given the kicking responsibilities - his inside pass put Zac Guildford over for his first try of the season, allowing the Crusaders to take a foothold in the match.

Fellow wing Sean Maitland scored the Crusaders' other try when he chased a perfectly weighted Israel Dagg grubber to give the visitors the lead after halftime, an advantage they did not relinquish.

Carter made his comeback last week in the second half against the Cheetahs and yesterday was replaced by Ryan Crotty, Taylor moving in one to first-five.

Although he is by no means at the top of his game, Carter's value could be seen even in the way he marshalled his teammates on defence, one aspect of the game where the Crusaders did perform well. The scrum and lineout could be added to that list but the handling was appalling at times - although both teams were guilty of that - despite the dry conditions at Ellis Park.

The Crusaders will need to improve before facing the Bulls in Pretoria next weekend. The Bulls went down fighting to the Stormers 20-17 in an intense game at Cape Town.

"The first half we weren't too pleased with, in the second half we got a bit of a bullet at halftime which really kicked us into gear," Guildford said.

Butch James missed a penalty in front of the posts after the fulltime siren that would have given the Lions a losing bonus point. The victory enabled the Crusaders to leap the Hurricanes into third place in the New Zealand conference, and put them in sixth place on the overall table.

The Chiefs continued their impressive form with a 30-13 victory over the Waratahs at Waikato Stadium and, like the Crusaders, they made their dominance tell in the second half.

While they didn't manage a bonus point, they succeeded everywhere else. Their scrum again stood firm, they linked excellently on attack and defence was just as well organised.

Prop Sona Taumalolo heads the team's try-scoring tally - though this time he scored on the right wing rather than amid the heavy artillery as per normal.

Coach Dave Rennie stressed the importance of the victory on the eve of their travel for games against the Force, Cheetahs and Sharks. "It's important to keep winning - it becomes a bit of a habit," Rennie said.

"When you travel it's always tough, so meeting the Force next week on their home turf will present different challenges, but we're certainly happy to bank some more points and get on the road as a group."

In a spectacular example of self-destruction, the Hurricanes blew a 21-point lead in the first half to slump to a 47-38 defeat to the Cheetahs in Wellington, their second loss at home in two matches this season.

"We were up on points but we hadn't done a lot with the ball. They were all counter-attack tries," said captain Conrad Smith.

"They were making all the play so I think that told. To their credit, they stuck at it and we weren't getting the turnovers we got early in the game."

The Highlanders blew away the Rebels 43-12 in Invercargill, with flanker Adam Thomson marking his return from a neck injury by scoring a hat-trick.

The Stormers' hard-fought victory over the Bulls allowed them to retain first place overall on the table. They are the only unbeaten team with five victories from five matches but now face a tough tour Down Under where they play the Highlanders, Crusaders, Reds and Force.

For the defending champion Reds the season has gone from bad to worse. Fresh from their thrashing at the hands of the Bulls in Pretoria, they slumped to 45-19 defeat to the Force in Perth. APNZ