Hull looked rattled, but soon settled after Shaun Berrigan's converted try reduced the deficit to four points. Danny Tickle then turned the game on his head with two tries before the interval, with the second-row completing his hat-trick soon after half-time.

Tickle also bagged eight points with the boot and Mark Calderwood's try sealed victory for Hull - though a late Duggan try, his third of the campaign, kept the score very respectable from a Celtic view.

The result was not the one Celtic fans were after - but the game acted as another example of how the club can be competitive this season. Three defeats from three is certainly a disappointing start - but the Crusaders gave a strong Hull outfit a scare and now just need to churn out a performance for the full eighty minutes.

Celtic Crusaders: Duggan, Dyer, Hanna, Dalle Cort, Blackwood, Quinn, Van Disk, O'Hara, Budworth, Bryant, Peek, Chalk, Beasley. Replacements: Smith, Lupton, Flower, J James.

Hull: Byrne, Calderwood, G Horne, Yeaman, Briscoe, R Horne, Thorman, Dowes, Berrigan, Cusack, Burnett, Tickle, Radford. Replacements: Washbrook, Thackray, Manu, Houghton.