The Crusaders turned in a powerful second-half performance to humiliate the Stormers 51-23 in their Super 12 clash at Newlands on Saturday evening.
After trailing 6-3 at the break, the New Zealanders rattled in seven second-half tries to leave home fans dumbfounded.
The extraordinary result reinforced the fact that the Crusaders — surprise 35-20 losers to the Bulls the week before — must be favourites to regain the Super 12 title this year.
At the same time the pressure has been piled on Stormers coach Gert Smal, who has not been able to get his side to put in one convincing performance yet this season.
The Stormers can point to having had the better of the first half, but they were their own worst enemies as they made more errors than the visitors and butchered two decent try-scoring opportunities in the Crusaders’ 22m area.
Smal’s men took a narrow 6-3 lead into the break courtesy of two penalties by flyhalf Chris Rossouw, while Crusaders opposite number Dan Carter managed one.
But that was going to be as good as it got and the Crusaders simply stepped up a couple of gears in the second half.
They set about starting the rout shortly after the restart, with left wing Caleb Ralph the ultimate beneficiary from Carter’s line break.
The Stormers were always going to be punished if they turned over possession and that was indeed the case on the 50-minute mark, when lineout ball was lost. It ended in right wing Rico Gear crossing the line.
There was a brief glimmer of hope when Rossouw landed his third penalty and centre Marius Joubert intercepted for a try under the posts.
But there was no basis to think the Crusaders were going to be rattled by having their lead cut to two points.
Joubert’s try should not have been awarded in any event as he had been way off-side, but that was irrelevant to the outcome.
It was sheer class that led to the Crusaders’ next try, with centre Aaron Mauger finishing after a powerful surge and superb off-load.
Then, in the 61st minute, fullback Leon Macdonald scored after a cross-kick by Carter which Stormers number 15 Gaffie du Toit failed to deal with.
Three minutes later, Carter scored a try of his own when Stormers flank Luke Watson could not control a bouncing ball in the goal area.
Gear got his second in the 67th minute after out-pacing Stormers loose forwards Pietie Ferreira and Gerrie Britz.
Ralph wrapped up the proceedings with his second on 72 minutes after slipping through a gap as the ball travelled down the line.
There was a consolation try for Stormers replacement wing Tonderai Chavhanga which was well crafted by Jean de Villiers and De Wet Barry.
By then, however, the Crusaders had already gone into cruise control and all that remained was for referee George Ayoub to put the Stormers out of their misery.
Scorers: Stormers: Tries: Centre Marius Joubert, replacement wing Tonderai Chavhanga. Conversions: Flyhalf Chris Rossouw (2). Penalties: Rossouw (3).
Crusaders: Tries: Left wing Caleb Ralph (2), right wing Rico Gear (2), centre Aaron Mauger, fullback Leon Macdonald, flyhalf Dan Carter. Conversions: Carter (3), replacement flyhalf Andrew Mehrtens (2). Penalties: Carter (2). – Sapa