Playmaker Quade Cooper bagged a record 31 points as Queensland ended an 11-year Super 14 drought against the Crusaders with a stunning 41-20 upset at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.

But the Reds uplifting four-tries-to-two victory was soured with the potentially season-ending knee injury to skipper James Horwill.

Wallabies lock Horwill was carried off midway through the second half with ligament damage after winger Digby Ioane crossed to give the home side a 27-6 lead.

While they were ahead by three converted tries, the game was far from in the bag as the Crusaders rallied with a try to halfback Andy Ellis after Reds lock Adam Byrnes was sin-binned.

But the seven-time champions momentum was stopped when a loose pass, one of dozens by the off-key visitors, saw Morgan Turinui pounce and put blazing winger Rod Davies away for his first Super 14 try and a 34-13 lead.

Cooper completed the bonus-point victory when he cheekily intercepted a pass by Ellis after the halfback had already knocked on.

It was his second try for the match and his personal haul of 31 points, which included an eight from 11 goalkicking display, eclipsed Elton Flatley's (26) Queensland record for most points in a Super rugby match.

"It's an awesome result and there was a lot of talk whether we could back up after last week so it's nice to shut a few people up," said Horwill, who feared he faces a long stint on the sidelines.

"It doesn't look real good, I'll have a scan but I think I might have done a few ligaments in my knee."

Cooper and fellow Wallabies back Will Genia were superb for the Reds throughout, while debutant Jake Schatz stood up in a powerful back-row with Daniel Braid and Scott Higginbotham.

The last time Queensland beat the Crusaders was in 1999 and they had previously given up halftime leads in the Christchurch-based team's last two visits to Brisbane.

The Crusaders, without rested All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw, shot themselves in the foot with poor handling on a muggy night, the first time they have conceded 40-plus points since the 2004 final loss to the Brumbies.

The Reds lacked the fire of last week's first-half display against NSW but still took a 14-6 lead into halftime as Cooper pulled the strings expertly.

The early highlight was a scintillating team try by the home side, started and finished by maturing flyhalf Quade Cooper.

Cooper threatened throughout the first half with his deft inside passes and it was one to Morgan Turinui which sparked the 65m move that also saw fellow backs Rod Davies, Will Genia and Peter Hynes expertly play their parts.

The 34th-minute try came just as Crusaders prop Owen Franks was preparing to return from the sin-bin following a professional foul after Cooper was cut down metres short of the goal line.

Reds coach Ewen McKenzie was also pessimistic about Horwill's chances of lining up in the Super 14 again this season, which would be a devastating blow to his young team.

"It looks like a pretty serious injury, we're not talking about a one-week injury, it's at the serious end and that obviously takes a fair bit of the gloss from the evening," McKenzie said.

The new coach praised the combination of Genia, Cooper - who rated the best Reds win he's been involved in - and Anthony Faingaa, highly impressive at inside centre, as the Reds arrowed through the middle of the Crusaders.

But McKenzie admitted he was nervous after Ellis's try against his 14-man outfit.

Crusaders counterpart Todd Blackadder praised the Reds physical, ball-in-hand game but felt the match was there for the taking before Davies' try against the run of play.

"We gave ourselves an opportunity and the tide was turning, but then it was gone," he said.

Blackadder lamented his side's ill-discipline in defence, which led to Cooper's five penalty goals, poor tackling and dreadful handling.

"We didn't have a great night and usually we're a lot better than that," he said.

"When we had the ball in hand it was very un-Crusader like and we were just trying to force the pass."

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