Crusaders v QR Qld Reds Jade Stadium 7:30pm - 10/2/2007
33	Round 02	22
	FT

Another courageous display by the QR Queensland Reds was not enough to overcome the experience and combination of the Crusaders, who posted a 33-22 victory in Round 2 of the Investec Super 14.

The Reds fought back from 14-0 down to put on 19 unanswered points, and with 20 minutes to go were leading 22-21.

However the Crusaders marshalled their defences and built pressure on the Reds to create scoring opportunities that led to tries, the last right on fulltime to deny the Reds a bonus point.

A bitterly disappointed head coach Eddie Jones said the Reds missed far too many first up tackles to be successful against the Crusaders.

"In the end we weren't good enough," Jones said.

The Reds had been strong at the lineout, where lock Hugh McMeniman stole two of the Crusaders' throws in the first half, but in the end were unable to match it with the Crusaders, who outscored them five tries to two.

McMeniman was stretchered off late in the second half with an ankle injury and will be examined tonight to determine how serious it is.

Fullback Clinton Schifcofske was again impressive for the Reds, getting his side out of a difficult defensive position with one jinking run in which he beat four would-be tacklers.

Schifcofske also kicked four penalty goals to help get the Reds' noses in front after their slow start.

Prop Greg Holmes scored the Reds' first try from a forward drive after a lineout and wing Peter Hynes opportunistically grabbed the second when he snapped up a mistimed grubber kick to race away and score.

The Reds pack had a tougher time this week than they did against the Hurricanes a week earlier, but lock James Horwill and flanker Mitch Chapman again impressed with their attacking work on the fringe of the ruck.

Reds skipper John Roe described the loss as a disappointing "could have been" for his side.

"One of the big disappointments in life is 'could have been' and that was a 'could have been'.

"We put ourselves in a good position to go on with that game. I thought our 20 minutes after halftime was particularly good, but all credit to the Crusaders, they've got a very daunting record here at Jade (Stadium) and they showed tonight why."

Scores:

Crusaders 33 (Stephen Brett, Ross Filipo, Mose Tuiali'i, Scott
Hamilton, Brent Ward tries; Brett 4 cons) def QR Queensland Reds 22 (Greg Holmes, Peter Hynes tries; Clinton Schifcofske 4 pens) at Jade Stadium, Christchurch, NZ. Crowd: