Crusaders 57
Cheetahs 14
A Cheetahs implosion or a Crusaders miracle - it doesn't matter.
All that does is that midway through the second half tonight, the Crusaders came alive and sounded a warning that they have got enough rugby in them to beat whoever gets in their way.
They had been puttling along until Willie le Roux's yellow card eight minutes after half time. And then, boom, they ignited. Helped no end by the Cheetahs' wild thinking and play, the Crusaders were able to score three tries in six minutes.
It was scarcely believable. It all came together for the home side - the passing, running lines, decision-making, support play - they were all perfect and the Cheetahs had no idea what hit them.
The initial damage was caused by the Crusaders' scrum, which has become a lethal weapon. It destroyed the Lions last week and was just as destructive tonight, albeit with a bit of help from a referee who didn't appear to know what was he doing.
For the first 50 minutes, though, it had become slightly worrying that a scrum was all the Crusaders had. It was the only area they were dominant, the only means they had to apply genuine pressure and indeed score points.
In fact, it was the only way they kept themselves in the game as they were static and clumsy with ball in hand. As soon as they moved away from their happy place, their game structures broke down.
The handling was again loose. Not as wild and erratic as it was against the Lions, but still frustratingly inaccurate when it had to be anything but.
Rugby at this level is about converting half-chances. It's about stringing together pass after pass that is on the mark and allows defences to be stretched to the point where they break.
The Crusaders, again, didn't do enough to break the Cheetahs in the first 50 minutes. They did enough to trouble the Cheetahs - enough to buckle and bend them a bit - but not enough to break them.
They looked like they were being hindered by an element of anxiety, a touch of over-eagerness to make things work and force the pace of the game.
They took risks they didn't need to, threw passes that were never on and lacked the discipline at times to hold their depth or simply go to ground with possession.
But all the time that scrum was sapping the Cheetahs, killing their belief and inflicting them with fatigue. And once Le Roux was in the bin for a high shot on Nemani Nadolo, it all clicked for the Crusaders.
Their attack game flowed. The passing was crisp. The running was direct and powerful and they looked like a different team.
In the thick of it was Dan Carter. One daft chip-kick direct into touch was not enough to change the opinion that he's getting there. The tentative stuff has all gone. He was direct and decisive and his confidence is clearly returning.
He's slowly remembering that he can play this game and that, if he backs his instincts and trusts himself to survive the contact, he's got plenty left to offer.
His tries, where he snatched a loose ball and took off both times, will have been a sweet moment. They were hardly a highlight of his illustrious career but they may prove significant in persuading him definitively that he's turned the corner.
It certainly helped persuade the Crusaders that they have turned the corner. It has taken them a while, but they are finally playing the type of rugby that will keep them in the hunt.
Crusaders 57 (J. Taufua (2), Penalty, I. Dagg, D. Carter (2), N. Nadolo, D. Havili tries; D. Carter 7 cons, pens)
Cheetahs 14 (F. Venter, J. Sadie tries; J. Pietersen 2 cons)
HT: 10-14
