The Crusaders’ title hopes took another blow following a 31-26 defeat to the Western Force in Perth after letting an early 19-0 lead slip away.

The visitors jumped out to a handy lead with tries to Taha Kemara, Leicester Fainga’anuku and Johnny McNicholl inside the opening 22 minutes.

But the Force came back and evened the contest in the 54th minute setting up an exciting final quarter. The Crusaders took the lead again when Noah Hotham crossed over but the Force scored two late tries to steal the win.

For the Crusaders it was their fifth defeat of the season and second straight loss after going down to the Reds last week.

They now sit in sixth place with five games remaining including two against the second-placed Hurricanes and one against the top of the table Chiefs.

They’ll be looking to bounce back when they open their new stadium next week, where they will host the Waratahs as part of Super round.