Rugby: Crusaders tick off all right boxes

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Apart from the failure to gain a bonus point in their victory over the Force in Christchurch, the past weekend couldn't have gone any better for the Crusaders.

Remarkably, virtually all of the other results were kind to them, including yesterday's shock 21-19 victory by the Stormers over the top-of-the-table Sharks in Durban.

Third on the table and first in the New Zealand conference, the Crusaders are well-placed heading into the June break.

They also have a match against the visiting England team in Christchurch on June 17 to keep themselves on task.

Beginning the round well with a 30-7 victory over the Force, the Crusaders then sat back and saw virtually every other box ticked.

The Hurricanes could have leapfrogged them into third with a victory over the Blues at Eden Park, but instead they fell flat in a 37-24 defeat. Likewise, the Reds prevented the Highlanders from threatening coach Todd Blackadder's men with their last-gasp 38-31 victory in Brisbane.

The Waratahs probably did them a favour with their 33-17 win over the Chiefs in New Plymouth, which, while it cemented the Sydney team's place in second, put a big dent in the chances of the defending champions, who have knocked the Crusaders out of their last two semifinals.

Even the lowly Lions got in on the act with their shock 32-21 victory over the ever-dangerous Bulls in Johannesburg.

Midfielder Ryan Crotty said just as important as the results going the Crusaders' way was the feeling within the squad.

"I remember going into the break last year and there was a lot of fatigue in the group," he said.

"We'd done a lot of travel and I guess we didn't have ideal bye rounds.

"This time the guys were fizzing going into the game on Friday night, they wanted to play really well.

"We've got really good depth, the guys on the bench could start easily," said Crotty.

"It's good to have your destiny in your own hands.

"I think we're in a pretty good place as a team, it's just up to everyone to get better over the next three weeks and really attack the last bit of the round robin and hopefully get into the finals."