Match Reports

The Force scored their first ever win over the Crusaders tonight, the Perth team running out deserved 24-16 victors.

The Crusaders led 13-0 at halftime but the expected second-half finish never eventuated, instead the Force outscored the visitors by a whopping 24-3 to claim the win and deny the Crusaders a bonus point.

It was a strangely off-colour night for the Crusaders, who had lost only once this season (to the Reds) heading into the match.

The obvious problem was the fact that they couldn't build pressure by retaining possession. The Force threatened at the breakdown, and too many mistakes or silly passes from the Crusaders led to a loss of possession.

They were also harshly punished by Jonathan Kaplan, who dished out twice as many penalties against the Crusaders.

Things looked positive in the first half. The Crusaders swept straight on to attack and scored after four minutes through halfback Kahn Fotuali'i.

Fotuali'i showed some trickery from the back of an attacking ruck to pick up the ball one-handed and sprint around the blindside to score a converted try.

The Crusaders got some luck when both Brett Sheehan and David Hill missed penalty attempts.

Blindside flanker Kieran Read was prominent in the first 20 minutes - with the ball in hand and claiming two steals at the breakdown.

A good run by Ryan Crotty put the Crusaders under the posts and, with the Crusaders winning a penalty advantage, Fotuali'i drop kicked three points.

They showed a good example of the width in their game when Robbie Fruean sneaked down the left wing before the ball was spread to the right where prop Ben Franks was bundled into touch near the corner.

A Dan Carter penalty with seven minutes left made it 13-0, and Carter was soon involved again when making a crucial tackle on centre Ryan Cross, who had broken through the line.

After the break the Force went straight on to the attack and hooker Ben Whittaker scored a try from close in - the TMO deciding he had ground the ball on the line.

Five minutes later and the Force had scored again - through prop Pek Cowan who crashed over from a rolling maul.

Hill missed two more penalties with the score 14-13 to the Force. With 20 minutes to go it still seemed that the Crusaders would finish strongly and claim the victory.

However, they just couldn't get their hands on the ball. Replacement halfback Andy Ellis went on a dart down the blindside but lost the ball.

The pressure paid off though, the Crusaders winning a scrum free-kick which Richie McCaw tapped and attacked the line. One more ruck later and Carter had snapped over a drop goal to give the Crusaders back the lead 16-14.

The Crusaders were beginning to build momentum but then disaster struck for the red and blacks - just as they looked likely, the ball popped out of a ruck 2m from the Force line and Matt Hodgson scored at the other end.

What should have been 23-14 to the Crusaders turned into a 21-16 lead to the Force.

And with four minutes to go Hill kicked a penalty to deny the Crusaders a bonus point.

It was a less than ideal way for the Crusaders to open their three-match tour, as skipper McCaw acknowledged afterwards, but all isn't lost yet.

''The Force were too good for us tonight,'' he said.
''They put a lot of pressure on us and our lineout wasn't too flash. You just can't afford to turn over the ball like we did. It's not a good start to our tour but we'll regroup and bounce back. We know the areas we have to improve.''

The Crusaders next play the Stormers (who lost to the Reds in Brisbane tonight) in Cape Town.

The Stormers play a fairly similar game to the Crusaders - built on defence and building pressure on the opposition - so it should be a fascinating clash.

Force - Tries: Ben Whittaker, Pek Cowan, Matt Hodgson. Cons: David Hill 3. Pen: Hill.
Crusaders - Try: Kahn Fotuali'i. Con: Dan Carter. Pen: Carter. DGs: Fotuali'i, Carter.
HT: Crusaders 13-0.
Kickers:
Force - Hill 4 from 7. Brett Sheehan 0 from 1.
Crusaders - Carter 2 from 2 and 1 DG from 1 attempt. Fotuali'i 1 DG from 1 attempt.

Crusaders:
1. Ben Franks
2. Ti'i Paulo
3. Owen Franks (Wyatt Crockett 47min)
4. Brad Thorn
5. Chris Jack (Sam Whitelock 57)
6. Kieran Read
7. Richie McCaw (c)
8. Thomas Waldrom (George Whitelock 70)
9. Kahn Fotuali' (Andy Ellis 50)
10. Dan Carter
11. Zac Guildford
12. Ryan Crotty (Dan Bowden 60)
13. Robbie Fruean (Colin Slade 70)
14. Adam Whitelock
15. Sean Maitland
Reserve not used:
16. Dan Perrin