Let's be honest - the Crusaders didn't deserve to beat the Western Force 20-19 in Perth on Friday night.
A try by flanker Jordan Taufua in the final minute, which was converted by playmaker Richie Mo'unga from almost in front of the sticks, allowed the Crusaders to escape with an improbable victory at nib Stadium.
More Rugby Union Videos
- Video duration
- 01:29
Crusaders snatch Super win from Force
Crusaders snatch Super win from Force
Crusaders take until the 78th minute to find the match-winning try to defeat the Western Force.
Up Next
Dream not over for Lealiifano as Larkham eyes five-eighth options
- Video duration
- 00:46
- Video duration
- 00:46
Dream not over for Lealiifano as Larkham ...
Dream not over for Lealiifano as Larkham eyes five-eighth options
Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham says Christian Lealiifano's recovery is ongoing as he looks at potential options at fly-half for the upcoming Super Rugby season.
Up Next
Waratahs to benefit from French experience
- Video duration
- 00:26
- Video duration
- 00:26
Waratahs to benefit from French experience
Waratahs to benefit from French experience
A new-look front row could be the difference for the Waratahs in 2017 with Sekope Kepu and Damien Fitzpatrick returning from stints with Bordeaux and Lyon.
Up Next
Rugby player banned for flattening female ref
- Video duration
- 00:29
- Video duration
- 00:29
Rugby player banned for flattening female ...
Rugby player banned for flattening female ref
Argentine rugby player Bruno Andres Doglioli has been banned for three years after tackling female referee Maria Beatrice Benvenuti during an Italian league match between Vicenza and Valsugana.
Up Next
Tuqiri, Larkham, Umaga urged to stage comebacks
- Video duration
- 00:28
- Video duration
- 00:28
Tuqiri, Larkham, Umaga urged to stage ...
Tuqiri, Larkham, Umaga urged to stage comebacks
Now Chris Latham has confirmed his return to professional rugby at the Brisbane Tens, a number of his ex-Super Rugby rivals may also be in the mix to play at Suncorp Stadium.
Up Next
Foley: Wallabies were still getting used to Cheika
- Video duration
- 00:46
- Video duration
- 00:46
Foley: Wallabies were still getting used ...
Foley: Wallabies were still getting used to Cheika
Bernard Foley says the team needs to acknowledge that there is no such thing as regaining momentum after the international break.
Up Next
Jones: Wallabies wouldn't listen to me
- Video duration
- 00:17
- Video duration
- 00:17
Jones: Wallabies wouldn't listen to me
Jones: Wallabies wouldn't listen to me
England coach Eddie Jones says his former side Australia refused to heed his advice on scrummaging and other aspects of forward play during his time in charge of the Wallabies but refused to go into specifics.
Up Next
Lethargic Wallabies embarrassed by England
- Video duration
- 01:29
- Video duration
- 01:29
Lethargic Wallabies embarrassed by England
Lethargic Wallabies embarrassed by England
England finish the year undefeated after beating Australia 37-21.
Crusaders snatch Super win from Force
Crusaders take until the 78th minute to find the match-winning try to defeat the Western Force.
Having won their last four games, the Crusaders were supposed to be good enough to give the Force - who have now lost six of their seven games - a decent mauling. No chance.
After scoring two tries inside the first 30 minutes to lead 13-6 at halftime, the Crusaders didn't just go off the boil. They went stone cold.
In the second half they started like a social team that has just tootled out of the pub with a bellyful of pies and pints; they started dropping balls, flinging inaccurate passes and their most potent attacking weapon, left wing Nemani Nadolo, was hardly sighted.
Fullback Ben Volavola opened the door a fraction for the Force when he lost possession, and midfielder Junior Rasolea kicked it open when he scooped-up the pill and beat the tackle of Ryan Crotty in a long run toward the line. Rasolea fed workaholic flanker Matt Hodgson who flicked the ball to replacement back Ryan Louwrens.
The conversion by Peter Grant was never going to miss - he nailed all five shots at goal - and the Force, having lunged ahead 19-13, suddenly found the self-belief that had deserted them for much of the season.
You couldn't say the same for the Crusaders. As the minutes wound down in the final 15 minutes they looked disoriented and panicky; they started fumbling the nut, passes were not up to scratch and right wing Johnny McNicholl spilled a lovely cross-kick by playmaker Richie Mo'unga that should have resulted in him scoring his second try.
Maybe Todd Blackadder didn't bother giving his Crusaders team a rocket afterwards. He might just be extremely relieved to get the win and get on the plane back home to Christchurch.
Anyone who had tuned in to the earlier encounter between the Chiefs and Blues and then opted to watch the later match in Perth, would have been within their rights to punch the death button on their remote, tip their cocoa down the sink and stagger off to bed.
Unlike that frantic blood-and-guts display at Waikato Stadium, where both teams pledged to move the ball deep within their own halves, the teams at nib Stadium preferred a much more cautious approach.
As a consequence the intensity was several notches below the New Zealand derby; it would be of no surprise if even the most diehard rugby heads elected to channel-surf, seeking some racier entertainment from the shopping or music channels.
Kicking the ball when it beyond their own halfway line was often the only option, although the Crusaders, when they crossed that mid-point in the first half, became a different animal as they suddenly pricked their ears and employed a combination of soft hands and nifty passes to manipulate the opposition defence.
No. 8 and captain Kieran Read was often involved, handling the ball to keep the movements flowing. Read instigated the first try for halfback Mitchell Drummond, roaring off from the base of the scrum to punch down the short side.
Inevitably, as the Crusaders often do, the ball was swung to the other side of the field towards left wing Nadolo's channel and several phases later Drummond scampered over.
McNicholl, a player who has the potential to go things very well when his confidence is high, snared the only other try scored in the first half.
McNicholl might have jammed the fat plum on the cake, but it was flanker  Matt Todd and hooker Codie Taylor who provided the ingredients to make it all happen; Todd, roaming wide, provided the inside pass to Taylor and the latter put on a excellent right-footed sidestep ahead of a one-handed offload for his Sydenham club team-mate McNicholl to collect.
Bright moments, yes. But they weren't frequent. Between them the two teams kicked the ball 43 times in the first half, with the Crusaders securing 12 lineouts to the Force's none - surely one of the most bizarre statistics seen this season - and the home side also missed 12 tackles to none.
It made you wonder how the Crusaders could only be ahead by seven points at the break. To see them scrape home just before fulltime was even harder to comprehend.
Stuff.co.nz