The big news for the Crusaders this week was the return of former All Black Andrew Mehrtens at first five-eighth, but after warming the bench since the start of the season, Mehrtens, unsurprisingly, was far from his best and it was the Reds who took control early on.

The Crusaders, who began the game without a point in the competition, looked a bit desperate at the start. The 2003 Finalists took some poor options when they had the Reds under pressure in the opening quarter.

The visitors were desperate in defence, too, but it paid off with the ever-present Richie McCaw frequently turning over ball from the hosts at the breakdown and allowing Justin Marshall or Mehrtens to clear the ball into touch.

Neither side managed to cross the line in the first 20 minutes, but the Crusaders took the lead in the 16th when Daniel Carter slotted a penalty and the centre stretched the lead with a second six minutes later.

Both sides slogged away, but it was the Reds who scored next with flanker John Roe, in his 50th Super 12 appearance, breaking through the defence - dancing past Crusaders fullback Ben Blair - and finally carrying Carter and winger Tony Koonwaiyou over with him for the try.

Flatley added the extras, but television replays brought doubt over whether the try was actually scored. The score stood, however, and the hosts went to the break leading by one point.

The Reds began the second half firing, but the first score came against the run of play as the Crusaders attempted to break out of their own half.

The Crusaders coughed the ball up in the tackle and Reds winger Peter Hynes broke through, chipped ahead and centre Steve Kefu took advantage of a kind bounce to slide over for the try. Flatley was again on hand to stretch the lead with the conversion.

The Wallaby pivot put his team in front further two minutes later with another successful penalty, but it was the last time the Reds had an affect on the score as the Crusaders fought back.

Carter narrowed the gap with a penalty goal of his own a minute later and the Reds defenders were caught napping shortly after when Mehrtens chose to run the ball back at them and not kick as he had opted to do for most of the match.

The defensive lapse proved costly for the Reds as the Crusaders surged up the field with Mose Tuiali’i screaming down the touchline, chipping ahead for Chris Latham to get back and cover. The Reds fullback was outnumbered and turned over, allowing Crusaders hooker Corey Flynn to get the ball over in the corner.

Carter failed to convert and the game opened up into a frenetic 20 minutes as both teams looked to run at each other with reckless abandon - the results proved more costly for the Reds as Latham limped off the field with a hamstring injury and Carter put over another penalty to level the scores.

The Crusaders then went into overdrive and slammed into the Reds defence, but to no avail as the hosts’ defence held firm. A late penalty goal, however, gave Carter the opportunity to put his team in front again. The 22-year-old made no mistake as the ball sailed through the uprights.

It was now time for some desperation from the Reds.

The hosts threw everything at the Crusaders in those final few minutes, but it was all to end in misery for the Reds and in particular, Flatley, when the skipper failed to hold onto a pass with an open tryline in front of him, on the stroke of full-time.

Man of the match: Richie McCaw was, as always, the star for the Crusaders with another tireless display and Reds midfielder Junior Pelesasa was a dynamo on defence, but fullback Chris Latham again stood tall for the Reds in a tight match.

Moment of the match: There were not many moments of sheer genius, but John Roe’s try before the break was simply brilliant. Some may argue it was not a try, but it was how he got to the line that was a joy to watch in the first place.

Villian of the match: It was gritty and hard, but nobody can claim this award.

The scorers:

For the Reds:Tries: Roe, KefuCons: Flatley 2Pen: Flatley

For the Crusaders:Try: FlynnPens: Carter 5

The teams:

Reds: 15 Chris Latham, 14 Wendell Sailor, 13 Junior Pelesasa, 12 Steve Kefu, 11 Peter Hynes, 10 Elton Flatley (captain), 9 Josh Valentine, 8 John Roe, 7 David Croft, 6 Daniel Heenan, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Van Humphries, 3 Anthony Mathison, 2 Sean Hardman, 1 Nick Stiles (vice-captain).Replacements: 16 Tai McIsaac, 17 Angus Scott, 18 Rudi Vedelago, 19 Luke Doherty, 20 Tim Atkinson, 21 Todd Feather, 22 Drew Mitchell.

Crusaders: 15 Ben Blair, 14 Tony Koonwaiyou, 13 Aaron Mauger, 12 Dan Carter, 11 Caleb Ralph, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 9 Justin Marshall, 8 Sam Broomhall, 7 Richard McCaw, 6 Reuben Thorne (captain), 5 Chris Jack, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Dave Hewett.Replacements: 16 Tone Kopelani, 17 Chris King, 18 Mose Tuiali’i, 19 Johnny Leo’o, 20 Jamie Nutbrown, 21 Nathan Mauger, 22 Marika Vunibaka.

Referee: Tappe Henning (South Africa)

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