The Reds were, however, much more competitive than many expected with Wallabies utility Jordan Petaia highly involved from the left wing, No 8 Harry Wilson leading the charge with ball in hand and halfback Tate McDermott impressing with one try and laying on another.
The Crusaders, missing 16 players through injury including Ethan Blackadder, Sam Whitelock and Sevu Reece, notched their third straight win since suffering the shock away loss against the Fijian Drua to improve their season record to 4-2.
While coach Scott Robertson will be pleased to emerge unscathed this was a patchy performance from the Crusaders, with three lost lineouts, their defence line broken regularly and discipline causing frustrations.
The Reds registering seven clean busts compared to the Crusaders two underlines the competitive nature of the three-tries-to-two contest.
At this point, the Crusaders will welcome Moana Pasifika next week.
The Crusaders led 15-7 at halftime and extended that to 22-7 midway through the second half but they were beaten to the punch at the breakdown and the Reds kept coming throughout.
Tamaiti Williams was among the Crusaders’ best after leading a dominant scrum alongside veterans Codie Taylor and Joe Moody. His damaging efforts from tighthead earned two second half penalties. Williams then backed up that with a surge that left him inches short, allowing Willi Heinz to finish the job with a strike that ultimately sealed the result.
The Reds had ample chances to seriously threaten the Crusaders, though.
Down by 13 points with 12 minutes remaining, the Reds’ curious decision to kick for the posts looked worse when James O’Connor missed the attempt and the attacking chance from the lineout was squandered. Moments later, Reds second five-eighth Isaac Henry blew another break by failing to pass to his support. Such was the story of their night.
The Crusaders were forced to absorb early pressure as Petaia and Wilson had the Reds on the front foot with strong ball carrying while McDermott, as ever from the base, proved a constant running threat.
Richie Mo’unga initially sparked the Crusaders with the first of two strikes in 10 minutes through a deft inside ball that sent in from wing Leicester Fainga’anuku on the charge, beating the last man, to claim the opening try.
Rookie halfback Noah Hotham, the 19-year-old in his starting debut, underlined his talent with a lethal snipe that featured speed, vision and offload to set up lock Dom Gardiner, who was prominent elsewhere with ball in hand.
Hotham impressed, too, by picking his passes and controlling the tempo in a largely composed 43-minute stint.
Leading 15-0 after half an hour the Crusaders were, at that point, cruising. But it didn’t last.
The Reds applied pressure at the lineout to stay in the fight. The locals replied just before the break following a breakout involving fullback Jock Campbell, O’Connor and Wilson, fittingly finished by McDermott.
Petaia’s second half finish in the corner, after being denied early, had the Reds within touching distance only for their execution to prove costly.
While competitive in this match the Reds slide to 2-4 and with the Brumbies next week are now in danger of missing the playoffs.
Crusaders 25 (Leicester Fainga’anuku, Dom Gardiner, Willi Heinz tries; Richie Mo’unga 2 cons, 2 pens)
Reds 12 (Tate McDermott, Jordan Petaia tries; Isaac Henry con)
HT: 15-7
