Crusaders kickoff new era in style.

Crusaders finally kicked off their new season in style and in front of over 10,000 people at the Racecourse Ground. That's 9,999 more people than what other critics claimed would be at the first match.

On a pitch covered in freshly fallen snow, the Crusaders battled hard for 65 minutes until Danny McGuire led the Leeds charges onto what was a harsh 34-6 scoreline for the brave Welsh side. If it hadn't been for glaringly obvious errors under no pressure, they might have pushed Leeds all the way. Scott Donald's try should have been safely collected by the winger, instead it went straight through his legs and allowed Donald to touchdown. There was also the kicking of Michael Witt, who guided the ball safely into touch on the full on two occasions when the Crusaders desperately needed field possession.

But overall it was a promising start to the night, which was obviously spoilt by weird refereeing decisions. Ali Lauititi's first try looked dodgy on a first glance, but his second was defiantly held up over the line and should not have been awarded. I can only presume Richard Silverwood was on Leeds -24 at William Hill, who knows?

What was even more exciting for me however, was the amount of people in the stands. Over 10,000 people watched the match in Wrexham, a figure that has kept all the anti-expansionists quiet for the time being. But if the club can so much as keep half that attendance and average 4-5,000 on a weekly basis, then it will have to be said that the move to Wrexham was the right one.

However there is a long way to go in the season, and there will be plenty more written about this topic before the seasons end.