Photos: Super 14 week fiveKEY POINTS:
Crusaders 34
Waratahs 7
Inevitable and the Crusaders have been long-time companions in the Super 14.
So it came to pass as the home side eventually ground down their transtasman rivals and broke the resistance they had shown for a large chunk of this game. But the
benchmark Super 14 side took far longer than they would have liked to stamp their authority.
They sealed it in the final quarter with relentless, trademark drives which sucked the energy from the Waratahs and delivered several tries. But there was an edge missing from the Crusaders.
It took a shock try from powerful Waratahs No 8 Wycliff Palu to jolt the Crusaders out of some modest work soon after halftime and activate their anticipated surge to a sixth straight win.
Minutes later, Casey Laulala responded when he retrieved a wobbly up and under and powered away from the defence in an arcing 45m run. That staccato scoring seemed to capture this game.
The first half would have delighted purists north of the equator.
The only scoring in the first spell came from two Daniel Carter penalties, 35 minutes apart, as the sides slogged away at each other while their defensive lines held firm under some very serious attack.
The Crusaders had more possession and therefore more variety to their game although their backline did not have the same rhythm or potency without the injured Stephen Brett in midfield. They were also denied the luxuries of time and space which other sides have given them, sometimes on reputation alone.
The Waratahs came to compete with Daniel Vickerman upsetting Ali Williams' lineout grabs, Phil Waugh and his mates scavenging on the ground and defenders hitting hard enough to force more Crusaders' handling mistakes than normal.
There was caution too, especially from the visitors. They collected most of their clean ball near their 22 and rather than risk turnovers from handling errors, Kurtley Beale or Lachlan Turner chose to kick for territory.
From some of those kicks, the Crusaders tried to counter attack but that was ruined too often by careless ball retention. Coach Robbie Deans emphasised the need to tighten those areas in his halftime pitch.
He lamented some of the loose ball carries which had released the pressure on the Waratahs and warned his side would have to raise their standards if they were to outlast their rivals. The response came, including a bonus point try on the tick of fulltime.
Crusaders (C. Laulala, M. Tuiali'i, W. Crockett, S. Hamilton, tries; D. Carter 2 pen, 4 con)
Waratahs (W. Palu try; K. Beale con) Halftime: 6-0