The Crusaders secured a 45-6 bonus point victory over the Cheetahs in Christchurch moving them into first place on the Super14 table with matches still to come in Round ten.
The Crusaders had secured the bonus point by half time and led very comfortably at 26-6 and went on to score seven tries in total. The Cheetahs failed to cross the whitewash.
The basis of the Crusaders victory was their scrum which dominated the Cheetahs scrum.
The Crusaders travel to Australia to play the Force and then South Africa where they will play matches against the Stormers and Bulls before returning home to face the Brumbies. Their last three opponents are still in the running to make the play offs.
The Cheetahs remain on tour and face last year's Super 14 finalists the Chiefs in Hamilton before returning home to face the Blues.
The Crusaders wore black armbands as a sign of respect for their trainer Luke Thornley who passed away last week.
Thomas Waldrom (pictured) scored two tries and set up two others from No. 8 in a dominant scrum.
The Crusaders used their scrum power as a platform to score seven tries - four either to or through Waldrom - in a win which lifted them temporarily to the top of the championship standings.
Waldrom scored tries in the 33rd and 39th minutes - the second from a pushover scrum - and contributed to tries by Ryan Crotty in the 26th minute and Sean Maitland in the 56th minute.
Halfback Kahn Fotuali'i, prop Ben Franks and winger Zac Guildford also scored tries for the Crusaders.
The Crusaders' scrum was the key to their dominant performance and was the area from where they launched many of their most dangerous attacks.
"Set pieces are a pretty key area and I guess that set the standard for the whole match," Crusaders captain Richie McCaw said.
Fotuali'i scored the Crusaders' first try after 11 minutes, sprinting more than 50 meters after they had secured a tighthead from a disintegrating Cheetahs scrum.
Waldrom handled twice in the movement which led to Crotty's try in the 26th minute then scored himself in the 33rd minute to give the Crusaders a dominant 19-3 lead.
His second try in the 39th minute, when the Crusader scrum heaved the Cheetahs back over their own goal line, gave the home team a 26-6 lead at halftime.
Waldrom offered a crucial pass as Sean Maitland scored the first try of the second half in the 56th minute.
Prop Ben Franks and winger Zac Guilford then scored tries as the Crusaders built on a steady supply of possession.
Their threat was built on their scrum dominance but increased by turnovers as the Cheetahs gave up easy possessions.
Final Score Crusaders 45 Cheetahs 6
Scorers
Crusaders
Tries - Kahn Fotuali'i, R. Crotty, T Waldrom 2, S Maitland, B Franks, Z Guildford
Pen -
Con - C Slade 5
Drop -
Cards -
Cheetahs
Tries -
Pen - R. Viljoen, M Bosman
Con -
Drop -
Cards -
Match Officials
Referee: Jonathon White (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Garratt Williamson (New Zealand), Josh Noonan (New Zealand)
Television match official: Kane McBride (New Zealand)
Teams
Crusaders : 1. Wyatt Crockett , 2. Ti'i Paulo , 3. Ben Franks , 4. Chris Jack , 5. Sam Whitelock , 6. George Whitelock , 7. Richie McCaw (c) , 8. Thomas Waldrom , 9. Kahn Fotuali'i , 10. Dan Carter , 11. Sean Maitland , 12. Ryan Crotty , 13. Tim Bateman , 14. Jared Payne , 15. Colin Slade
16. Dan Perrin , 17. Owen Franks , 18. Brad Thorn , 19. Jonathan Poff , 20. Andy Ellis / Willi Heinz , 21. Dan Bowden , 22. Zac Guildford
Cheetahs : 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Danwel Demas 13 Corne Uys, 12 Barry Geel, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Riaan Viljoen, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Davon Raubenheimer, 7 Barend Pieterse, 6 Hendro Scholtz, 5 Walti Vermeulen, 4 Izak van der Westhuizen, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (c), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen.
Reserves: 16 Ryno Barnes, 17 Wian du Preez, 18 Nico Breedt, 19 Philip van der Walt, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Meyer Bosman, 22 Robert Ebersohn.
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