Match Reports

Quade Cooper inspired the Reds to a comfortable 41-20 victory over a disappointing Crusaders team at Suncorp Stadium tonight.

Cooper scored 31 points, including two tries, as his Reds team put the Crusaders to the sword. It was the first time that the Reds had beaten the Crusaders in 11 years.

The Crusaders were never in the match. A combination of unforced errors and poor disciplined which was harshly dealt with by referee Craig Joubert ensured they were always on the back foot.

The forwards in particular will have to up their game before the next match against the Sharks at AMI Stadium on Friday night.

Crusaders captain Kieran Read said afterwards: ''We just weren't there. It's really disappointing. We came here with high hopes but we didn't put it together on the track.''

Head coach Todd Blackadder paid credit to the Reds, saying: ''They played really well. They deserved their victory. We couldn't hold possession and our lack of discipline didn't help much.''

Cooper and Dan Carter traded penalties to make it 6-6 before the Reds first-five scored his first try of the night after good work by fullback Peter Hynes.

Another Cooper penalty made it 14-6 at the break. If Crusaders fans thought their team would roar back after halftime they were sadly mistaken as the possession and territory stats were even worse for their team in the second stanza.

Two more Cooper penalties pushed the score out to 20-6 before Andy Ellis took advantage of lock Adam Byrnes' time in the sinbin to receive a Read pass from the back of a scrum and score between the posts.

The comeback was shortlived as Rod Davies and Cooper capitalised on two intercepts to punish the Crusaders, who struck back through a converted try to Brad Thorn.

The statistics made painful reading for the Crusaders who will surely take some hard lessons out of the match.

They made 17 handling errors compared to the Reds' three. While the Reds held the ball for more than seven phases four times, the Crusaders couldn't manage it once.

Reds - Tries: Quade Cooper 2, Digby Ione, Rod Davies. Cons: Cooper 3. Pens: Cooper 5.
Crusaders - Tries: Andy Ellis, Brad Thorn. Cons: Dan Carter 2. Pens: Carter 2.
HT: 14-6.

Crusaders:
1. Ben Franks
2. Ti'i Paulo
3. Owen Franks (17. Wyatt Crockett 53rd min)
4. Sam Whitelock (18. Brad Thorn 48th min)
5. Isaac Ross
6. Kieran Read (c)
7. George Whitelock
8. Thomas Waldrom (19. Jonathan Poff 59th min)
9. Andy Ellis
10. Dan Carter
11. Zac Guildford
12. Tim Bateman (21. Adam Whitelock 62nd min)
13. Robbie Fruean
14. Jared Payne
15. Colin Slade (22. Sean Maitland 62nd min)
Reserves not used:
16. Quentin MacDonald
20. Kahn Fotuali'i

Kickers:
Reds - Cooper: 8 from 11
Crusaders - Carter: 4 from 5