Crusaders edge Stormers
The Crusaders continued their improving results with a tight 11-7 victory in a dour game against the Stormers.
Last Updated: 28/03/09 10:24am
The Stormers got their 'tour from hell' off to a diabolical start in Christchurch on Saturday, going down 11-7 to the defending champion Crusaders.
The protagonists managed a single try each in a unexciting affair that will leave Rassie Erasmus and Todd Blackadder with a lot of thinking to do.
Based on their respective performances at AMI Stadium, it's hard to see either team winning this year's tournament. Both sides were guilty of giving the ball away rather cheaply and making some elementary blunders.
The number of opportunities created and then wasted easily hit double figures as passes went to ground and possession was turned over at rucks.
Magic try
A cautious opening spell saw neither side able to find any sort of penetration. That would change with something special from Luke Watson after ten minutes.
The Stormers number eight received the ball just inside the Crusaders 22 and proceeded to spin, twist, turn and hand off his way through the tackle attempts of no less than five defenders before trotting over to open the score.
Watson has his detractors in South Africa - perhaps justifiably so - but no one can deny that he can play a bit of rugby on his day. While it must be said that the Crusaders tackling wasn't great, Watson's effort was still top-class.
The Crusaders were generally getting the better of the possession and territory thanks to their dominant work in the rucks and were rewarded with three points when Stephen Brett slotted a penalty on 25 minutes.
With all that possession one would have expected the Crusaders to have a couple more points, but some silly errors, symptomatic of the lack of composure and confidence that was so evident in years gone by, left them frustrated.
Hosts hit back
On the half-hour mark it all came together for the home side though. Tim Bateman took the ball up to create an opportunity after some solid driving from the pack, Kieran Read provided the link to Adam Whitelock out wide, and the wing finished off a well-constructed try with a short sprint down the sideline.
Brett's conversion wasn't to be, leaving the score at 8-7 to the men in red and that's how a rather uninspiring first-half would end.
Unfortunately the second half wasn't much to write home about either as the error count continued to sore. De Waal and Brett missed a penalty each and after half an hour the scores still had not changed.
The Stormers were well off-side to hand Brett a penalty in front of the posts with five minutes left to play. The Crusaders fly-half could not have missed if he tried.
11-7 it ended to hand the Crusaders a much-needed win and the Stormers a vital bonus point.
