The Crusaders crushed the Cheetahs 45-6 in their Super 14 match in Christchurch on Saturday to remain firmly in play-off contention.

The seven-time champions scored seven tries as they notched their seventh win of the season against the Cheetahs, who suffered their seventh loss from nine fixtures.

Along the way the Crusaders maintained the impregnable reputation of their home fortress, where they have not been beaten by a South African side since the first season of Super rugby 14 years ago.

But it was not a champagne performance - even though they had the bonus-point fourth try before halftime - as the Crusaders fielded a makeshift lineup against the lowly Cheetahs.

All Blacks halves Dan Carter and Andy Ellis were not considered because of injury and four other All Blacks were either relegated to the reserves bench or excluded from the match-day squad.

The unfamiliar combinations showed as the Crusaders were seldom under pressure yet failed to produce the fully cohesive effort expected, especially after Kahn Fotuali'i's easy opening try.

The powerful Crusaders forwards forced a turnover from a weak Cheetahs scrum and halfback Fotuali'i exposed the visitors' weak defence as he raced more than 40 metres to score.

That was in the 10th minute but it took another 20 minutes before they were to score again when Ryan Crotty touched down after a long build up through the forwards, and then Thomas Waldrom scored twice just before half-time.

The big backrower barged over from a maul for his first try and the second came from the Crusaders forwards driving a Cheetahs pack over the line from a five-metre scrum.

Riaan Viljoen and Meyer Bosman kicked penalties for the Cheetahs and the Crusaders went into the second half with a 26-6 lead.

The Crusaders' three second-half tries to Sean Maitland, Ben Franks and Zac Guildford all came from trademark counter-attacks.

Despite the fractured nature of the win, captain Richie McCaw was satisfied with the performance, particularly the scrum.

"As the game wore on we had the potential to loosen up but the guys stuck to the task, did the little jobs well and I thought in the second half we played some pretty good rugby," he said.

"Set-pieces are a pretty key area these days, and that set the standard for the whole game."

The Crusaders play the Western Force in Perth next week before heading to South Africa, while the Cheetahs round off their Australasian tour against the Waikato Chiefs in Hamilton.

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