This victory will rate alongside some of their bravest, as they showed the qualities which have them as the only side in the tournament history to win more than 50 per cent of their offshore matches.
The medals have not come in Blackadder's tenure and the Crusaders began this season with two rocky defeats. Performances in Africa were going to be mental markers.
Young men like backup five-eighths Tyler Bleyendaal needed to measure up. The 22-year-old did. He kicked some crucial goals in the tricky wind conditions and kept a chokehold on the Stormers with his tactical kicking as he guided the Crusaders around the park.
"That win was a testament to the Crusaders' character," Chiefs coach Dave Rennie said. "It was really gutsy.
"They are good at that though, aren't they? They win games when they are missing key people and have a history of winning over in South Africa and that is probably why they have won a lot of championships."
The dramatic win for the injury-hit Crusaders and a cross-border victory for the Chiefs have pushed them ahead of their New Zealand conference rivals.
Rennie believes his squad has the sort of consistent mental edge which has marked the Crusaders' history and blossomed in Cape Town.
"I think we have got it. If you look at this win the group of guys were working hard for each other.
"Even if you don't get things right you know the guys are going to hang in for 80. I know within our community the guys have gained a lot of respect for the fact that they will fight for 80, whether they win or lose, and if you do fight for 80 you will get a lot more consistency with results."
Rennie felt the Chiefs had dispelled any misgivings about their pedigree and were now looking forward to a bye.
"Now it's nice to have a couple of days to reflect on that and watch everyone else beat each other up in the next round," he said.
