With this win, the Crusaders will now wait to see who they will face in the semi-finals next weekend, while the Reds will be left to reflect on where they went wrong after a promising start to the season.
The Reds struggled in the scrums, which were dominated by the Crusaders throughout the game, especially in challenging weather conditions in the South Island.
The Crusaders capitalized on their scrum dominance, earning a 5-0 penalty count early in the match, leading to excellent field position for them.
Scott Barrett opened the scoring for the Crusaders with a controversial try near the Reds’ line, followed by a try from Tamaiti Williams in the first half.
Despite some promising linebreaks from the Reds, the only response came from Noah Hotham after a brilliant play by Christian Lio-Willie, securing the try of the match.
Although the Reds managed to score a couple of late tries, the outcome was clear as the Crusaders had already established their dominance.
While there were some setbacks for the Crusaders, such as Williams’ injury and Blackadder’s yellow card, they achieved their goal for the night and are now one step closer to redeeming last season’s disappointment.
