KEY POINTS:
Crusaders 33 Reds 22
Comparisons Might be odious but here's one Crusaders coach Robbie Deans won't mind: there was something Carteresque about the performance of Stephen Brett last night.
Whether passing, kicking from hand, running or tackling, Brett had a command about his game that was eerily
reminiscent of the All Black maestro. He scored a try, made one and had a hand in two others, stamping himself as the game's dominant figure.
The Crusaders needed all of his skill too as a faltering lineout, mounting penalty count and Reds endeavour threatened to give the Queenslanders their first win over the champions since 1999.
After being outplayed by the Blues last weekend there would have been real fears in red-and-black country that the first seven weeks of the Super 14 could be long ones indeed.
Those fears would have been allayed, only slightly, after the Crusaders repelled a well-organised, David Croft-inspired Reds.
The Crusaders seized the initiative midway through the first half after a piece of Brett magic. The home side turned down a kickable penalty and got fortunate with the lineout win but there was nothing lucky about the end product. Carrying the ball in two hands Brett glanced wide, shimmied as if to pass inside and waltzed through the gap he had created.
This, too, was Rua Tipoki's debut start for the franchise. He did nothing to dispel the idea that he is one of the better organisers of a backline in New Zealand rugby. At one point in the first half the Crusaders looked capable of shredding the Reds at will with a combination of flat skip passes and straight running.
The pinnacle of that period was Ross Filipo's try; a try that was started by Brett's flat pass to a hard-charging Casey Laulala.
Whether the Crusaders eased off the pedal or Eddie Jones' troops lifted is hard to tell, but one way or another they came back into the game late in the first half.
Greg Holmes scored after a classical lineout drive, if there is such a thing, then the Crusaders started to infringe frequently. Clinton Schifcofske, who had earlier embarked on a run that was matched only in trickiness by trying to spell his name backwards, made halftime the filling in a penalty sandwich.
Another creeping worry was the Crusader lineout. Jones knows well enough by now that if there is a set-piece on which to attack New Zealand teams it is the one that requires some co-ordination between thrower and jumpers. Through the lineout, the industry of Croft and a nice piece of opportunism by winger Peter Hynes, the Reds suddenly found themselves ahead 19-14 in front of a stadium generating less noise than a mausoleum.
The Crusaders hit back through the ever-present Mose Tuiali'i but ill-discipline continued to hound the home team. Filipo was penalised in front of his sticks, handing back the lead.
Tries to Scott Hamilton and Brent Ward, after a pinpoint Brett crossfield kick, sealed the Crusaders first victory and made the bonus point exactly what it sounds like - a bonus.
Crusaders 33 (S. Brett, R. Filipo, M. Tuiali'i, S. Hamilton, B. Ward tries; Brett 4 cons), Reds 22 (G. Holmes, P. Hynes tries; C. Schifcofske 4 pens). Ht: 14-8.
