After a week off, the Crusaders came back firing against the Bulls, breaking the line seemingly at will and pushing around a much larger forward pack on their way to a 32-10 victory  in Christchurch. With several players likely to make way for returning All Blacks next week, almost everyone took their chances in the Crusaders’ best outing of the season.

They showed their intentions in the very first minute of the game when they attempted to run the ball out from their own goal line. And the high-tempo game plan soon paid dividends when Steven Brett kicked a penalty.

Three minutes later Johnny Leo’o crashed over for the first try of the match. However, as the game settled down the massive Bulls pack, who outweighed their opponents by over 50kgs, began to assert themselves and were rewarded when Derek Hougaard landed an equalising penalty.

The frantic pace of the Crusaders’ game plan began to tire the Bulls forwards, but  it was their backs who made the mistake just before half time of missing a tackle on Crusaders fullback Scott Hamilton, then  gifting winger Rico Gear a try. Brett’s conversion saw the home team go into the half-time break 18-3 ahead.

After the half time break the Bulls just forgot how to tackle. Three players missed tackles on Tim Bateman as he scored the Crusaders’ third try, then Leo’o powered past two would-be tacklers leading to Hamilton scoring the bonus-point try a minute later. Brett converted both.

The Bulls finally crossed the Crusaders line through their forwards,  Wickus van Heerden crashing over. Hougaard converted via both uprights.

Gear should have had a second try on the end of a great back line movement, but lost the ball as he tried to ground it. With the result beyond doubt both coaches elected to empty their benches, and with so many reserves on the field the game lost a great deal of structure in the final quarter.

Several Crusaders’ players impressed, particularly lock Michael Paterson who seemed to be all over the field, first-five Brett - who will likely be replaced by All Black Dan Carter for the remainder of the season - and Gear, who went looking for work all night. No.8 Mose Tuiali’i also played well for the Crusaders, breaking tackles and distributing the ball from the base of the scrum.

For the Bulls, this was largely a forgettable game. After two good wins in Australia, their big but immobile pack was exposed and with captain Viktor Matfield on the bench, a lack of leadership was obvious.

Despite their loss, the Bulls remain in the top four while the Crusaders move to within one point of that leading quartet. One Bulls win from their two remaining tour matches will make their road to the semi-finals easier, while the Crusaders' next few opponents are in the bottom half of the table.

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