The first weekend in April a certain Tawa resident was scheduled to be in Christchurch to take part in his old school's 40th anniversary celebrations. After discovering less than a week beforehand that no official function was planned for the Saturday evening, he knew immediately what he'd do instead if he could procure tickets.

The Crusaders (at that stage in sixth place on the Super 12 table after an initial poor start to the season) would be at home playing the top-of-the-table Brumbies, and there was a reasonable possibility of a home team win. With that in mind, along with wanting to again experience 'pre-match proceedings' at Jade Stadium (more about that later), he arranged to go with an old friend in Christchurch and subsequently booked tickets.

He couldn't deny feeling a little nervous in the days leading up to the match. (How the coaches handle the pressure is beyond his comprehension). A red and black loss would be the pits, whereas a win on this occasion (and most others) would be absolute magic! The chances of the Crusaders beating the Brumbies this time around were, in his reckoning, better than even at about 60-40. And if that was to happen, he wanted to be part of it!

For some a visit to Jade Stadium simply for the combination of the Crusaders horsemen and the 'Conquest of Paradise' music is reason enough for being there. That, along with a well-played match and home team win make for one of life's great sporting experiences - in the opinion of the likes of this 'unbiased' individual! To put it simply, the horsemen three times circumnavigating the park - and stopping to raise their swords to the crowd - to the accompaniment of that magnificent music is very, very stirring, but probably only those whose blood runs red and black will appreciate what's being said here. [The real music is much better than the music you hear on this site].

As for the match itself, what a brilliant start for the Crusaders. Up 14-0 after six minutes! The game certainly wasn't won at that stage however, not when the opposition is a team like the Brumbies. It wasn't long before they'd reduced the gap to seven points. Going to the halftime break at 23-7 was a good feeling, but this observer wouldn't feel comfortable about the final outcome until five minutes from the end and the Crusaders ahead by 15 points or more!

The Brumbies started the second half with a roar and within 20 minutes were only five points behind at 26-21. At that stage he was hoping against hope that it wasn't all going to turn to custard, especially after such a promising start. It's true, as stated in one of the newspaper reports below, that many of the onlookers felt then that the next team to score would quite possibly go on to win the match. A huge sigh of relief that they had to wait no more than three minutes for the Crusaders to surge ahead again with a converted try. Back to a twelve point margin. Little more than a minute later the spirits of the somewhat parochial crowd rose even further when their team repeated that effort, taking the score to 40-21.

With a nineteen point margin and little more than fifteen minutes to go, he was beginning to feel reasonably confident that victory was secure. However the Brumbies came on strong again and, with five minutes remaining, increased their score to 40-28 and secured a bonus point in the process. Continuing to apply the pressure, the end result could very well have been 40-35. Fortunately the home team managed to hold them off. With 80 minutes (fulltime) showing on the clock, instead of kicking the ball out and ending the match, the Crusaders surged forward one last time and took the score to 47-28 with a last-second try.

Although 40-28 may have been a fairer reflection of the game, our Tawa friend was more than happy with the way it all turned out. Let's rephrase that. He was totally wrapped! An absolutely brilliant occasion and a great result against the 'old foe'.

The Crusaders have now moved up to second place on the table. One would have to say that headlines like 'Home semi beckons' (see below) are somewhat premature. There are many matches left. The competition is incredibly close and most of the teams still have a chance of making the semis. On present form the odds are good that the Crusaders will be there and their supporters certainly hope they are. But anything can happen. Watch this space!

- Malcolm Sparrow