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Nelson - The Crusaders overcame a heart-wrenching 10 days to send a signal to the rest of the Super Rugby competition that it was business as usual after they overcame a slow start to dump the Waratahs 33-18 in Nelson on Friday.
The New Zealand side had moved the game to Trafalgar Park following a devastating 6.3 magnitude earthquake on February 22 that ripped the heart out of Christchurch, killing at least 163 people and levelling much of the central business district in the country's second-largest city.
The team had also originally scheduled their first home match to commemorate the 29 victims of the Pike River coal mine explosion last November.
Both teams observed a minute's silence before kick-off, while the majority of the sold-out crowd wore red and black, as did tens of thousands of New Zealanders on Friday in a sign of solidarity with Canterbury.
Ironically, the Crusaders had changed their normal strip, wearing specially designed shirts in the traditional red and white colours of the West Coast union, where the Pike River mine is located.
After cancelling their game against the Hurricanes last week because of the earthquake, the Crusaders appeared rusty in the first 25 minutes making numerous handling errors and forcing passes in the face of an aggressive defensive line by the Waratahs.
The Sydney-based side established a 13-9 lead on the back of tries to inside centre Tom Carter and scrumhalf Luke Burgess and a long-range penalty by Kurtley Beale.
Beale had taken over the goal kicking from Daniel Halangahu, who had missed three successive kicks while his opposite Daniel Carter slotted three penalties to keep his side in the match.
The Crusaders, Super Rugby's most successful team with seven titles, then seemingly 'switched on' and a superb scrum just on halfway shunted the Waratahs off the ball and changed the complexion of the match.
Robbie Fruean grabbed his first try when he anticipated a Waratahs' attacking move, intercepted and sprinted 45 metres to score untouched to give his side a 16-13 lead.
He grabbed his second after another superb 15-man effort as the Crusaders forwards sucked in Waratahs defenders in close, recycled the ball to runners changing the angles of attack and then spreading it wide to Fruean, who barged through Beale to score in the corner.
Carter converted both tries and added a penalty to give the home side a 26-13 lead at half-time, which they extended immediately after the break when they again swept down field for All Blacks centre Sonny Bill Williams to score his first Super Rugby try.
Both sides then played the game between the 22-metre areas, with neither really threatening to score again until replacement Waratahs' wing Afa Pakalani scored his side's third try with seven minutes remaining.
"There was a hell of a lot of pressure that we put on ourselves and the way the guys stood up was just awesome, Crusaders captain Kieran Read said after the win.
"There was no lack of motivation in the group and we were just trying to keep to our systems and back ourselves, but it (the occasion) probably got to us a bit in the start and once we got into the game we showed what we could do.
"We hope we put a wee smile on the face of the people."
In next week's Round 4 action, the Crusaders are at home against the Brumbies, while the Waratahs enjoy a bye.
Teams:
Crusaders:
15. Israel Dagg, 14. Sean Maitland, 13. Robbie Fruean, 12. Sonny Bill Williams, 11. Adam Whitelock, 10. Daniel Carter, 9. Andy Ellis, 8. Kieran Read (captain), 7. Matt Todd, 6. George Whitelock, 5. Sam Whitelock, 4. Brad Thorn, 3. Owen Franks, 2. Corey Flynn, 1. Wyatt Crockett
Substitutes: 16. Quentin MacDonald, 17. Ben Franks, 18. Chris Jack, 19. Jonathan Poff, 20. Willi Heinz, 21. Matt Berquist, 22. Tom Marshall
Waratahs:
15. Kurtley Beale, 14. Lachie Turner, 13. Rob Horne, 12. Tom Carter, 11. Drew Mitchell, 10. Daniel Halangahu, 9. Luke Burgess, 8. Ben Mowen, 7. Phil Waugh (captain), 6. Dave Dennis, 5. Kane Douglas, 4. Dean Mumm, 3. Al Baxter, 2. Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1. Sekope Kepu
Substitutes: 16. Damien Fitzpatrick, 17. Benn Robinson, 18. Sitaleki Timani, 19. Pat McCutcheon, 20. Brendan McKibbin, 21. Ryan Cross, 22. Afa Pakalani
The New Zealand side had moved the game to Trafalgar Park following a devastating 6.3 magnitude earthquake on February 22 that ripped the heart out of Christchurch, killing at least 163 people and levelling much of the central business district in the country's second-largest city.
The team had also originally scheduled their first home match to commemorate the 29 victims of the Pike River coal mine explosion last November.
Both teams observed a minute's silence before kick-off, while the majority of the sold-out crowd wore red and black, as did tens of thousands of New Zealanders on Friday in a sign of solidarity with Canterbury.
Ironically, the Crusaders had changed their normal strip, wearing specially designed shirts in the traditional red and white colours of the West Coast union, where the Pike River mine is located.
After cancelling their game against the Hurricanes last week because of the earthquake, the Crusaders appeared rusty in the first 25 minutes making numerous handling errors and forcing passes in the face of an aggressive defensive line by the Waratahs.
The Sydney-based side established a 13-9 lead on the back of tries to inside centre Tom Carter and scrumhalf Luke Burgess and a long-range penalty by Kurtley Beale.
Beale had taken over the goal kicking from Daniel Halangahu, who had missed three successive kicks while his opposite Daniel Carter slotted three penalties to keep his side in the match.
The Crusaders, Super Rugby's most successful team with seven titles, then seemingly 'switched on' and a superb scrum just on halfway shunted the Waratahs off the ball and changed the complexion of the match.
Robbie Fruean grabbed his first try when he anticipated a Waratahs' attacking move, intercepted and sprinted 45 metres to score untouched to give his side a 16-13 lead.
He grabbed his second after another superb 15-man effort as the Crusaders forwards sucked in Waratahs defenders in close, recycled the ball to runners changing the angles of attack and then spreading it wide to Fruean, who barged through Beale to score in the corner.
Carter converted both tries and added a penalty to give the home side a 26-13 lead at half-time, which they extended immediately after the break when they again swept down field for All Blacks centre Sonny Bill Williams to score his first Super Rugby try.
Both sides then played the game between the 22-metre areas, with neither really threatening to score again until replacement Waratahs' wing Afa Pakalani scored his side's third try with seven minutes remaining.
"There was a hell of a lot of pressure that we put on ourselves and the way the guys stood up was just awesome, Crusaders captain Kieran Read said after the win.
"There was no lack of motivation in the group and we were just trying to keep to our systems and back ourselves, but it (the occasion) probably got to us a bit in the start and once we got into the game we showed what we could do.
"We hope we put a wee smile on the face of the people."
In next week's Round 4 action, the Crusaders are at home against the Brumbies, while the Waratahs enjoy a bye.
Teams:
Crusaders:
15. Israel Dagg, 14. Sean Maitland, 13. Robbie Fruean, 12. Sonny Bill Williams, 11. Adam Whitelock, 10. Daniel Carter, 9. Andy Ellis, 8. Kieran Read (captain), 7. Matt Todd, 6. George Whitelock, 5. Sam Whitelock, 4. Brad Thorn, 3. Owen Franks, 2. Corey Flynn, 1. Wyatt Crockett
Substitutes: 16. Quentin MacDonald, 17. Ben Franks, 18. Chris Jack, 19. Jonathan Poff, 20. Willi Heinz, 21. Matt Berquist, 22. Tom Marshall
Waratahs:
15. Kurtley Beale, 14. Lachie Turner, 13. Rob Horne, 12. Tom Carter, 11. Drew Mitchell, 10. Daniel Halangahu, 9. Luke Burgess, 8. Ben Mowen, 7. Phil Waugh (captain), 6. Dave Dennis, 5. Kane Douglas, 4. Dean Mumm, 3. Al Baxter, 2. Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1. Sekope Kepu
Substitutes: 16. Damien Fitzpatrick, 17. Benn Robinson, 18. Sitaleki Timani, 19. Pat McCutcheon, 20. Brendan McKibbin, 21. Ryan Cross, 22. Afa Pakalani
