With six new players in the line-up, the Crusaders were bound to lack a little cohesion. But the sheer number of basic handling errors in their 36-11 win over the Stormers will have many wondering what the All Blacks’ reconditioning squad did during their time off.

The Crusaders opened strongly against a South African side who lacked direction for much of the match. All Blacks captain Richie McCaw started strongly, effecting a turnover after only three minutes.

First five Dan Carter saw an early penalty attempt hit the upright but made no mistake with another kick after 16 minutes. The Stormers drew level soon after, however, when first five Peter Grant kicked a long-range penalty goal after a rare incursion into Crusaders territory.

The first try of the match came from a Carter crossfield kick which was gathered by winger Scott Hamilton on the left hand touchline. He beat a would-be tackler before drawing the last man and sending centre Casey Laulala in for Carter to convert.

Six minutes later a Carter chip kick was regathered by Laulala, who set up right winger Rico Gear for another try. And the Crusaders could have had a third before the break when Hamilton failed to take another pinpoint Carter cross-kick cleanly.

The first half was marred by almost every scrum having to be reset at least once. The Crusaders’ front row were clearly dominating their much larger opponents but referee Brent Bowden appeared to have no idea what was going on, often penalising the wrong player or giving players inconsistent advice. In fact, at one point he told the Crusaders to “Stay higher, stay low.”

The second half began with the Crusaders dropping the ball and the Stormers attacking down the left through flanker Schaulk Berger, who sent second five De Wet Barry over in the corner. With the Crusaders continuing to mishandle, Grant drew the Stormers closer with another penalty goal -- only for Carter to reply in kind with successful kicks in the 49th, 60th and 63rd minutes.

Amid seemingly endless scrum resets and nonsensical penalties, the Crusaders suddenly clicked, putting together a move down the left flank which end with fullback Leon MacDonald scoring in the corner.

With the result beyond doubt both coaches brought on reserves, taking away further structure from a game which had little to begin with. But the Crusaders still had time for a bonus-point try -- Gear’s second of the match -- after an overlap down the right.

Despite the convincing scoreline, this was a somewhat ugly win for the Crusaders, who dropped a lot of ball and turned it over too often. The ugliness was not helped by referee Bowden, whose penalties at the scrum baffled and frustrated many players.

The returning All Blacks earned a pass mark -- but barely. Too many handling errors and a lack of power at the breakdown meant the Crusaders were starved of ball for long periods.

McCaw played well against his Springboks opposite number, but looks to have lost a great deal of lower body strength, often being driven off the ball at the breakdown.

Carter controlled the flow of the game well but only ran at the Stormers’ defensive line on a couple of occasions. The bonus-point win lifts the Crusaders to join third in the table, while the Stormers head home stuck near the bottom of the table.