Crusaders crush the Bulls

The Crusaders came from 12-0 down to smash the Bulls 54-19 at Loftus Versfeld on Friday.

Led by an immaculate performance from trio Richie McCaw, Stephen Brett and Dan Carter, who pitched in with 24 points, the visitors scored seven tries in last year's semi-final rematch.

Despite a collective early effort from the proud holders, who were minus injured Bryan Habana for the fixture, the Bulls were completely outclassed with the game conducted at Carter and company's pace after an early home onslaught.

The clash started in a typically intimidating fashion with Derick Hougaard getting inside Kade Poki's head with a hanging kick, which ultimately led to the opening three points.

And the early exchanges continued to favour the Pretoria side with a Blue sheet thrown over their late-starting opponents - the six-time winners making the most of their handling errors in the opening ten minutes.

The intent was most certainly there from Fourie du Preez's men, who turned down wide points for an attacking five-metre lineout.

But the Loftus Versfeld crowd were surely not expecting to have things their own way as the Crusaders continued to soak up the hosts' dominance and another three Hougaard points.

Mistakes

And as if on cue, the Kiwis only took a second to flip the momentum as Mose Tuali'i galloped downfield. But more mistakes littered their efforts as it proved to be just a flash in the pan.

Skipper du Preez was as ever a massive presence for the Bulls early on - strolling around the pitch in a typically commanding manner as Hougaard extended his faultless kicking with another two penalties.

Where was the team who demolished the Brumbies in Round One?

The answer came immediately and left the doubters eating their hats! Yes, Carter was involved with a beautifully delayed pass as he slid across the field, feeding his prodigy Brett with a simple crossing.

And the All Black was on target again to close the scores to 12-10 with five remaining in the half - the canny Crusaders' points typically coming in an effortless style.

That mini-onslaught preceded the score of the night as Carter and Brett combined in midfield with the latter, who slipped through two despairing tacklers, handing it on to McCaw who in turn found Ellis to score.

Sin-bin

More visiting dominance followed after the break and it was again the flank who kicked on the Crusaders' lead with a close-range score.

Matters were compounded for the Bulls thereafter when Deon Stegmann was sent to the sin-bin as Carter's boot kept the scores ticking over.

The swagger then oozed from McCaw's men as the shackles were well and truly off!

And the Bulls' faithful subsequently dropped in volume and also numbers with 15 minutes remaining as Poki and debutant Nasi Manu went over to extend the ever-growing lead.

Carter was well in his stride and maybe had even taken a glance over at the touchline before capping his virtuoso performance. The fly-half glided through a gap and instead of stretching for the line, he touched the ball at the foot of the posts for his final contribution before joining McCaw for a well-earned drink.

With mission accomplished and 49 points on the board, a mistake from the backtracking Scott Hamilton let in JP Nel, but it was not to be a consolation as Leon MacDonald took the Crusaders past the half century for a comprehensive victory.