The Crusaders were granted an almighty scare before working in two tries in the last nine minutes to defeat a plucky Western Force outfit 42-30 in a thrilling Super Rugby encounter in Perth on Saturday night.
The Power led 30-28 with only nine minutes remaining courtesy of two tries to fullback Cameron Shepherd and the hot flush of James O`Connor, who nailed five-of-five penalties.
But the Crusaders hit game with a vengeance in a frantic finish, with tries to hooker Corey Flynn and halfback Kahn Fotuali`i getting the seven-times champions over the line.
The five-try bonus-point win lifted the Crusaders back to within 3 points of the Blues in the wash to finish top in the New Zealand conference.
Force flanker David Pocock was sensational in his 1st game back from a knee injury, earning some important penalties in the 2nd half as the national side threatened to buy the win.
The Crusaders made a hot start to the match, with fullback Israel Dagg nailing a couple of tries within eight minutes as the visitors opened up a 12-0 lead.
Winger Sean Maitland set Dagg up for the outset with a nifty inside pass after fending off a Ben McCalman tackle.
But it was Dagg`s pure class that got him the second, shaking off a weak David Smith tackle, brushing away James O`Connor and Richard Brown before wrong-footing Shepherd to make under the posts.
The hot flush of O`Connor kept the Strength within striking distance as the national side closed the gap to 15-9.
And the Storm hit the chair in the 29th minute when Shepherd scored after a bizarre sequence of events.
First, a promising Force foray broke down, allowing Crusaders inside centre Sonny Bill Williams to get a clever break.
But merely as the Crusaders seemed set to make with a flood of numbers out wide, a dropped pass opened the threshold for the Force.
Smith pounced on the open nut and made some valuable metres before dishing off to O`Connor, with the globe then finding itself in the men of hooker Nathan Charles and five-eighth Willie Ripia before an open Shepherd strolled through untouched.
The run lasted a simple minute, with Israel Dagg finding a gap between Nathan Sharpe and Pek Cowan before dishing to Williams for the easiest of tries.
A late O`Connor try closed the deficit to 22-19 at half-time, and the game swung the Force`s way when returning Crusaders skipper Richie McCaw was sinbinned for repeated infringements in the 47th minute.
A double piece of O`Connor magic - when he followed up a clever grubber kick with a fierce tackle on Williams 20 seconds later - led to Shepherd`s second try in the 53rd minute, giving the home side a 27-25 advantage.
The margin stretched to five when O`Connor nailed his fifth penalty, but from there it was all the Crusaders as they scored the last 17 points of the mate to ensure the win.
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