Crusaders

New Zealand captain Kieran Read, making his first appearance following wrist surgery last year, Ben Funnell, Pete Samu, George Bridge and Whetu Douglas also crossed for the home side who were celebrating Crockett's 176th appearance.

Crockett, who led the team onto the field, surpassed the previous mark of 175 appearances racked up by former All Blacks hooker Keven Mealamu.

The Crusaders will take on Japan's Sunwolves in Christchurch on Friday night.

Crockett will overtake former All Blacks team mate Keven Mealamu's record for the most capped player.

The Cantabrian also holds the record for the most Super Rugby games for one team.

Crusaders coach Scott Robertson has made a number of changes to the side which comes off a by-week with only five players in the 23 remaining in the same position.

The unbeaten competition leaders resisted a spirited second-half fightback from the Waratahs to consign Daryl Gibson's men to a fourth loss from six outings in 2017.

The Waratahs once again paid the price for a sloppy defensive display, missing a staggering 24 tackles in the first half alone and leaking two soft tries from lineout losses at Allianz Stadium.

Languishing in third-last spot on the ladder, things do not get any easier for the Waratahs, who travel to Wellington next to take on the defending champion Hurricanes on Friday night.

The Waratah host the unbeaten competition leaders in Sydney on Sunday with their finals hopes in the balance after a ho-hum two-from-five start.

But skipper Michael Hooper hopes last week's thrilling comeback win over the Melbourne Rebels, after trailing 25-6 at halftime, will prove the spark that revived the Tahs' 2017 fortunes.

"The comeback gave it that extra little bit for the viewers," the champion flanker said at Saturday's captain's run at Allianz Stadium.

"That's how we want to play. Look at our stats, it's sharing the workload. That's Waratahs footy.

Memories of the way the Waratahs used bruisers like Will Skelton and Tolu Latu to poke, niggle and provoke - illegally and otherwise - the Crusaders when they last visited Sydney haven't been forgotten.

Neither they should be. Watching the Waratahs forwards steam into the Crusaders in 2015, and you have to admit the city boys really did give the men from New Zealand the big V, made for painful viewing.

The former New Zealand under-20s midfielder made his Super Rugby debut off the bench two weeks ago against the Crusaders, an occasion that would have come much sooner but for successive season-ending knee injuries.

This week Tana Umaga has thrown Faiane the second five-eighth starting role for the Blues match against the Western Force at Eden Park on Saturday, pushing George Moala out to centre and spelling Rieko Ioane on the bench.

Trailing 20-7 at halftime after losing three players to injury early at Lang Park, the Crusaders rallied brilliantly to keep the Reds scoreless after the break and maintain their perfect record after three rounds of the season.

The Crusaders were down to 14 men in the 68th minute after loose forward Jordan Taufua was sin-binned for a light punch on Reds lock Rob Simmons but replacement scrumhalf Bryn Hall's second try gave the visitors hope with four minutes to play.

Hunt converted Hall's try to bring the Crusaders within a point and the Reds duly crumbled under pressure.

Nestled below his right ear the letter K is positioned above a small love heart, and further down a couple of feathers poke out above his collar. Look on the other side of his neck and there are a pair of hands clamped around some rosary beads.

This leads to his arms, both heavily tattooed - as are sections of his ribcage. On his back rest a set of angels' wings, hanging down almost as far as his hips.

The Crusaders, like thieves in the night, stormed back from a 27-6 deficit to win 30-27 in Dunedin on Saturday night.

Crusaders wing Seta Tamanivalu snatched the win, which seemed most unlikely even 15 minutes earlier, when he streaked down the right-hand sideline and touched down with a couple of minutes to play.

His try followed late five-pointers to David Havili and Whetu Douglas, with Douglas' and Tamanivalu's winner coming inside the final five minutes, and after the Highlanders had been reduced to 14 men on the back of a Malakai Fekitoa yellow card. 

The first five-eighth had surgery on Sunday for a fractured bone in his left hand. Mo'unga told team management it was sore after they held on for a 17-13 victory at AMI Stadium on Saturday night.

"He is recovering well and expected to require approximately six to eight weeks before returning to play," the team said in a press release on Sunday night.

It seems likely Marty McKenzie will take over from Mo'unga against the Highlanders in Dunedin on Saturday evening.