I didn't see the Cheetahs vs Reds match so can't comment on it, but I have to say this match was rather boring in my opinion. I felt the low scoring in this match was not necessarily due to fantastic defense, but rather woeful attack (especially by the Crusaders). Don't get me wrong, I thought the Stormers defended well, but even if they hadn't the Crusaders wouldn't have scored many more tries given how poor their attack was. Both sides also made a large number of errors - kicking the ball out on the full, not finding touch from penalties, dropping simple passes - most of these weren't caused by any pressure from the opposition, but rather were unforced. The fact it was a tight match kept it interesting until the end, but I overall I felt the quality of rugby on display was rather poor.
Anyways.... not that many positives for the Crusaders (apart from getting the 4 points). Theie lineout was not as reliable as usual, while the scrum was a bit hit & miss. Read tried hard but wasn't as effective as he can be, while Matt Todd was probably the pick of the forwards. Luke Whitelock had a very accurate game at 6 - he made all his tackles and was good in the lineout - but he still struggles to make much of an impact with ball in hand. He does have good handling skills and seems to be used far more as a passing option than a running option at the moment (he passed the ball far more than he ran it, which is rather unusual for a forward...).
Heinz passing was a step up from Ellis's, but his decision making is pretty average, and he does muck around at the back of the breakdown a bit too much. It was nice to see him make that big break though just before he went off. Tom Taylor had a very mixed game. He still struggles to get the backline going, and made a few errors with ball in hand. However he did make a couple of key defensive plays (including a brilliant try saving cover tackle with a couple of minutes to go), and kicked the key goal near the end. Crotty was rock solid as he always is, while Lee-Lo was a bit better than last week, but was pretty quiet. The outside backs were all pretty quiet, but all probably had their best games of the season (which says more about how poor they have been so far than how good they were in this match!).
The Crusaders obviously need to change something against the Rebels next week. George Whitelock should probably return and replace his brother Luke at 6, though I would love to see Taufua given a shot there. The backline is where the major changes need to happen though. Ellis should be back starting at halfback, and I think they should give Slade a shot at 10. He is still pretty inconsistent, but if he can run hard at the line he could give the Crusaders the momentum in the backs they need (they may look at bringing back Bleyendaal too, which wouldn't be a bad idea either). Tom Taylor needs to be playing at 12 (as that is his best position in my opinion), with Crotty at 13. Dagg should be back at fullback, and I would go with McNicholl and whoever out of Guildford and Tuitavake is fit (if both are fit I would give Guildford at shot). Nadolo can't be too far away from being available, but I would use him as impact player from the bench rather than starting him (at the beginning at least).
I finally got a chance to watch this match (as the coverage was delayed by a day here in Canada), and I have to disagree with your reasoning regarding the "woeful attack" rather than the good defense (of both teams), being the reason for the closeness of the result ... both sides made over 100 tackles, and the stormer made 135 ... there were a number of try saving tackles, with a few of them, right on the try line ... I will concede that some of the option taking wasn't that clever however, notably, Read going for the line himself, when they had the overlap in the first half, and Jaco Taute not passing to his wing, when they had an overlap in the second half.
I also disagree with the "hit and miss" remark about the Crusaders scrum, it was definitely more "hit" than "miss", particularly in the first half, and probably only started to wane a bit when the front row was replaced in the second half ... I'm not sure how the absence of Corey Flynn, due to his eye socket injury, will effect them going forward, but the scrum looked pretty solid to me ... the lineouts weren't that flash, but you have to give credit to De Koch Steenkamp for competing and winning a few against the throw, up until this game, Sam Whitelock had been winning a few against the throw himself.
The other area of concern is the number of turn overs conceded ... hopefully they will be able to sort this out, if the crusaders can get a regular starting 6,7 and 8, I agree that George W is probably a better option at 6 than his brother Luke, so if George has recovered from injury, I'd put him in ... I'd leave Taufua on the bench, and bring him on a bit earlier as an impact player.
I probably saw enough to suggest that "normal business will resume" for the Crusaders, as the errors look to be lessening, and the continuity seems to be better this week ... I probably would keep Taylor at 10, Crotty at 12, and start Fonotia at 13 against the Rebels. The Crusaders seem to base their play/play better, when they have a strong, straight running outside Centre, who can break the line, and the fact that Crotty and Fonotia have an established combination when they were playing for Brighton doesn't hurt either ... I think Dagg (who I would start back at Fullback) would get more opportunities from this combination (if you started Slade off the bench, the backline could be reshuffled if necessary)
I'm not sure who I would start on the wings ... Guildford and Nadalo should both be available, as they both started for the development side this weekend, and are both injury free, and I believe that Tuitavake hamstring injury? isn't too far away from putting him in contention also.
... I'd probably, start Guildford as he has the experience and can break the line (although he isn't a great long term solution)
Other than that, the only other change is a forced one, as a result of injury, as Willie Heinz is out for a few weeks, Any Ellis would start, with Mitchell Drummond on the bench
