Cheetahs’ curse continues in Canberra
10 Mar 2012
GARETH DUNCAN watched Christian Lealiifano kick a last-second penalty to give the Brumbies a 24-23 win over the Cheetahs in Canberra.
With a 23-10 lead early in the second half over a bumbling Brumbies outfit, the Cheetahs looked set to record their third Super Rugby victory in Australasia. However, referee Keith Brown’s strict handling of the scrum and breakdown swung the momentum and saw the Cheetahs heavily penalised in the final quarter. After Pat McCabe’s try, Lealiifano slotted three penalties for the win – the last one coming in the final movement of the game.
Cheetahs captain Adriaan Strauss said he felt hard done by as ‘the decisions went against them’ at the death. However, the Bloemfontein franchise had opportunities to take play out of their half following a Heinrich Brussow steal and a Philip Snyman intercept. A knock-on cancelled Brussow’s efforts, while Snyman looked for support instead of kicking his team out of danger. This saw the Brumbies take advantage of their favourable field position.
Head coach Naka Drotske will be disappointed considering his side had the upper hand against Jake White’s charges for most parts of the match.
The Cheetahs showed good attacking play in the first half, but their finishing let them down. After Henry Speight’s early try for the hosts, the visitors held most of the ascendancy in the first half, but they failed to capitalise from their regular visits to the Brumbies’ red zone. It took a smart run from speedster Willie le Roux for the Bloemfontein franchise to finally cross the chalk as he raced through following a set-piece move from a lineout in midfield.
It was a close contest on the scoreboard, with Johan Goosen and Christian Lealiifano trading penalties. A Goosen three-pointer on the stroke of half-time edged the Cheetahs 13-10 ahead at the break.
The Cheetahs built on their lead early after the restart, with a Tewis de Bruyn try and a Goosen penalty creating a 13-point buffer. However, the tourists imploded as their ill-discipline and poor decision making cost them a famous win. Their overseas curse continues.
95 Comments
10 Mar 2012, 06:25 am
Yawning dragons (the audience that watches this game!)
10 Mar 2012, 07:05 am
@BillTong(BillTong)-1:
Pretty entertaining, frenetic rugby pack full of young, exciting youngsters from both sides…
10 Mar 2012, 07:10 am
That tackles faker and ball dropping Johnson is a disgrace
10 Mar 2012, 07:14 am
@Hondo(Hondo)-3:
Aussie commentators and I disagree… marginal error rate to all his pop-passing and off-loads… excellent work-rate on the front-foot… which is exactly why he’s been chosen for this game in these running conditions…
10 Mar 2012, 07:14 am
brussow pinged, knee on the ground.
10 Mar 2012, 07:18 am
cheetahs need to calm down on attack & not force these pop passes.
10 Mar 2012, 07:33 am
Le Roux is one slippery customer… can see why Benjamin is being omitted… Cheetahs definitely the best attacking side in RSA so far… albeit against the weakest Brumbies side in quite some time.
10 Mar 2012, 07:39 am
@bryce_in_oz(bryce_in_oz)-7: ja, the same Brumbies that folded the Force in week 1, then the Force must be uber kak
10 Mar 2012, 07:43 am
transie,i see that sarel cilliers lost 31-34 to kearsney last week.they are from dundee and 95 percent black.the kids do not have issues with the schools name…
10 Mar 2012, 07:45 am
@Hondo(Hondo)-3:
Shame
He too black for you?
10 Mar 2012, 07:46 am
@Fern is not a stud,he is merely no19(Fern)-9: what the hell does a school in DUNDEE of all places have to do with me?
10 Mar 2012, 07:47 am
f okof dawn,hou op aandag soek
10 Mar 2012, 07:48 am
why did they make the kid kick from there? 62m
10 Mar 2012, 07:49 am
Another Johnson’s turn over, number 4 of this match
10 Mar 2012, 07:49 am
it is going to be the next big rugby school,just to let you know that black players are being chosen on merit and doing well,then again it will not suit your agenda or victim mentality.
10 Mar 2012, 07:49 am
johnson needs to bloody protect the ball in contact man! this is bullshit from him.
10 Mar 2012, 07:53 am
@Fern is not a stud,he is merely no19(Fern)-15: haha ME a victim? go bark up another tree boytie
10 Mar 2012, 07:53 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-8:
Exactly… did you not watch the hiding they got from the young Cane’s side?
10 Mar 2012, 07:53 am
@Fern is not a stud,he is merely no19(Fern)-15:
ooo!
Big words!
10 Mar 2012, 07:54 am
Cheetah’s looking tired now… bench needs to be used…
10 Mar 2012, 07:56 am
@Dawn(Dawn)-19:
moenie met my praat nie papbek.
10 Mar 2012, 07:58 am
@Fern is not a stud,he is merely no19(Fern)-15: FYI schools like Dale, Queens, Graeme & Selborne have had predominantly black merit teams FOR YEARS. only in Natal is this a novelty…go figure
10 Mar 2012, 07:59 am
@bryce_in_oz(bryce_in_oz)-18: not yet, got it on pvr though
10 Mar 2012, 08:02 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-22
so why are ep and the kings so kak.
10 Mar 2012, 08:05 am
@Fern is not a stud,he is merely no19(Fern)-24: hahaha
is that your comeback? 34 – 26 they rolled the previously undefeated Pampas.
10 Mar 2012, 08:05 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-23:
Like many teams this year… some excellent young prospects coming through…
10 Mar 2012, 08:05 am
@Fern is not a stud,he is merely no19(Fern)-21:
Oooo!
Afrikaans!
10 Mar 2012, 08:06 am
keith brown is really making himself present now…
10 Mar 2012, 08:08 am
come on cheetahs hold on!
10 Mar 2012, 08:10 am
what is that contraption in white’s ear?
10 Mar 2012, 08:14 am
keith brown won this for the brumbies
10 Mar 2012, 08:15 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-30:
Water boy had the same…
Entertaining game this… tough for the Cheetahs…
10 Mar 2012, 08:15 am
this is devastating!
10 Mar 2012, 08:17 am
gutting
10 Mar 2012, 08:18 am
And the Australasian fukc nut conspiracy continue. May all you motherfukcers get your day. **** ref, **** commentators, **** crowd. LOL!
10 Mar 2012, 08:19 am
What is it with New Zealand Referees and Australian Rugby.
THIS IS PATHETIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
10 Mar 2012, 08:19 am
Credit to Phil Kearns who more or less said that the Brumbies got away with **** refereeing
10 Mar 2012, 08:20 am
Damn…!!
Cheetahs threw this one away…
10 Mar 2012, 08:21 am
@ufo(ufo)-38:
How can throw that which is taken out of your hands?
10 Mar 2012, 08:22 am
I’m not a Cheetahs fan, but that was a pretty disgusting performance from the ref. Brumbies engaging early on every scrum in the game and not called on it once, then awards the Brumbies some mystery penalties in the last 20 min to hand them the game. And as for the Aussie tv and commentators conveniently ignoring certain incidents and replays…
Very disappointing.
10 Mar 2012, 08:22 am
@YoMama(YoMama)-37:
Rubbish… he even pointed out that last penalty…
Cheetah’s chucked this close one through lack of discipline and taking foot off gas…
Reminiscent of last season for them…
22man 85min rugby!
10 Mar 2012, 08:24 am
The thing that pisses me off the most is how blatant it was. On every scrum the Brumbies went in early and the Cheetahs were penalized.
On the one that was just too obvious, Browneye penalized Strauss for “moving his head”
Isn’t that the same trick that Bryce pulled on the Sharks last year?
10 Mar 2012, 08:27 am
@bryce_in_oz(bryce_in_oz)-41: well if the brumbies never get pinged for early engagement the result has nothing to do with your cliched “22man 85min rugby” piffle. brown was pinging only one side!
10 Mar 2012, 08:27 am
How does Naka Drotske still have a job?
10 Mar 2012, 08:28 am
Ref can be very happy with himself after that. I’m pretty sure his orders were to make sure the Brumbies win. Mission accomplished.
10 Mar 2012, 08:28 am
@YoMama(YoMama)-42:
Absolutely disgusting. I see a few scribes on Twitter are already for the game to be investigated. Something seemed to click in Keith Brown’s head those last 20min, and he just went on some crazy rampage.
The amount he missed on the side of the Brumbies and “saw” on the side of the Cheetahs was mind-boggling.
10 Mar 2012, 08:29 am
The Cheetahs were blatantly cheated but rest assured, the tootless dog,
Andre Watson will defend the ref. It is high time he gets kicked off the gravy train.
The refs needs stronger representation.
10 Mar 2012, 08:30 am
Kak refereeing notwithstanding, the Cheetahs have zero respect for the ball.
2 Minutes from the end they turn over a crucial ball in their 22, and start RUNNING with it. They had the game won, all they needed to do was get out of their half, but instead the guy with the ball tosses a speculative skipp pass out wide, which ends up drifting way forward and straight into Brumbie hands.
How stupid is that? They have this idea that you can score spectacular tries at any time from anywhere, and as a result they play stupid rugby.
That little move cost them the game.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
10 Mar 2012, 08:30 am
@bryce_in_oz(bryce_in_oz)-41:
No no, the Cheetahs outplayed the Brumbies.
Every time that they weren’t penalized, they scored.
Raaubenheimer penalized for “wrong entry” – straight through the middle.
Cheetahs penalized for using hands in the ruck – after the brumby lying in the ruck raked it back with his foot.
EVERY scrum, the brumbies went in early – Cheetahs penalized.
When the scrum goes through 90deg, the defending team wins the ball – penalty brumbies (and don’t tell me the cheetahs were “walking around” – look at the brumbies loosies…they were going the other way, not holding straight.
10 points to Browneye from Paddy O’Brien and Keith Lawrence.
10 Mar 2012, 08:32 am
@Melchizedek(Melchizedek)-44:
Simple, he’s a great coach. Call him Midas. He turns veld mud into gold and then does it again the next season after the teams that can’t develop players come shopping.
10 Mar 2012, 08:33 am
I am a cheetahs fan and I feel the refereeing was very inconsistent. I don’t mind loosing but not thru the ref’s in consistencies.
10 Mar 2012, 08:33 am
@HongKongSlong(HongKongSlong)-45:
He got the Japies.
10 Mar 2012, 08:34 am
What an injustice to the Cheetahs, funny how the scrums were no problem until the Brumbies were about to lose the match in the last quarter of the game.
10 Mar 2012, 08:34 am
Cheetahs robbed in Canberra — Headline on Supersport’s website …. but at the end of the day i guess its Jake 1 – SA 0
10 Mar 2012, 08:34 am
Irrespective of this result, the Brumbies are sh*t and going nowhere.
10 Mar 2012, 08:34 am
At the end of the game I was hoping that Strauss would say:
“Er Ja, you Aussies must really be enjoying your Kiwi referees…”
10 Mar 2012, 08:35 am
Bryce grabbed the gold (best ref) in NZ in 2011. Do we really expect bronze, silver etc to be any better?
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-48: Yeah it was stupid but that silliness didn’t cost them the game. It was the donkey with the whistle. When you get nailed for such BS all the time you do desperate stuff.
10 Mar 2012, 08:36 am
from rugby365 :
The referee blows the Cheetahs for twisting the scrum. That is just plain rubbish, but the Brumbies will take it. Christian Lealiifano slots the penalty and the Brumbies celebrate a 24-23 win. The Cheetahs were robbed, but the Brumbies won’t care how they get the win – any help will do for new coach Jake White and his team. That is full-time. Join us in a few minuites when we head to Dunedin for the encounter between the Highlanders and the Waratahs.
10 Mar 2012, 08:36 am
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-55:
Karma is a killer.
10 Mar 2012, 08:37 am
@Tuna(Tuna)-57:
Well, since they KNEW this clown was blowing them up for every little infringement in their own half, why the hell not get Goosen to kick the ball into the Brumbies 22 and play the game in their half?
But no, like idiots they try to RUN the ball out of their own half.
Boggles the mind.
10 Mar 2012, 08:39 am
lol, SA cricketers sitting in the stands having beer! maybe Morkel needs something stronger, he bowled k@k today ….
10 Mar 2012, 08:41 am
another manufactured result
10 Mar 2012, 08:43 am
At almost every scrum the Brumbies engaged early & no call from the toss of a ref but when Cheeters hit slightly early, he’s on the whistle. The least said about the last call the better.
10 Mar 2012, 08:45 am
Usually you have to go to Bisho to get robbed like that!
The Cheetahs do have deficiencies and will lose some games. Games like this though should have been theirs.
For the next week all that we will hear is:
“The Cheetahs have themselves to blame for not closing out the game.”
“South Africans are always whining about referees”
It will add to the frustration and and just make South Africans implode.
After the RWC Bryce show, all South Africans should have united in utter anger and gathered enough woema to moer the blerrie nasals.
It is time that all South Africans from the vet oke in the stands to the rugby administrators stand together and say more.
South Africans are far too willing to bend over and take a spanking from the bullies while they laugh at us.
10 Mar 2012, 08:51 am
Spineless SuperSport scribes have changed their heading.
Typical weak South Africans. (see last comment above)
Why try to not get the people too riled up? It’s time that we got more riled up and took action.
10 Mar 2012, 08:55 am
Watson is Paddy’s puppet … Paddy was the biggest cheat ever – hated SA teams! … and Hoskins is also a poefter ….
10 Mar 2012, 08:56 am
@BWA(Dusktill)-58:
Rugby 365 are usually quite good… that must be a ‘ring-in’… last penalty was for not pushing straight… and it was quite clear for all to see lazy players simply walking the scrum ’round’ semi-bound…
10 Mar 2012, 09:02 am
bryce, you know you are behind by 2 points and a penalty will cost you the game … why would you take the risk and not push straight? no one is that stupid … you’d push straight, give them ball on the back foot and force them to go for the drop kick … about only a 10% risk of them being successful!
10 Mar 2012, 09:08 am
@BWA(Dusktill)-68:
Watch the footage again… clear as daylight… break in concentration in the dying minutes… unfortunately much like last season for the Cheetahs…
22man 85min rugby…
10 Mar 2012, 09:15 am
The Cheetahs were mugged in broad daylight, **** that type of mugging doesn’t even happen in Hillbrow, SARU must pull the fack out of this SANZAR nonsense, we can play CC and have our players well rested for the Boks and see were that leaves Australia
10 Mar 2012, 09:17 am
YoMama @ 39
Cheetahs thought they had it won and eased up… common with all saffa sporting teams… and what was most impressive about bulls last week…
We need to be prepared to play flat-out for 90 minutes… and have to up our discipline and accuracy all round…
cheetahs should and could have won this game…
great pity… but only themselves to blame…
10 Mar 2012, 09:20 am
The ref pulled a Pro Legote on himself
10 Mar 2012, 09:24 am
Officiating is killing the game alone. Too many refs riding on the home crowds Mexican wave. Australian conference is propped up by the reds and the poor officials on the other side. SUPER 15 is only needed by one country and we know who that is.
10 Mar 2012, 09:45 am
@XhosaKid(XhosaKid)-70:
That will leave the world number two’s playing the world number one’s and the world number 4′s playing themselves back into the stone-age with all their best players long emigrated to ‘paying’ leagues in the NH and SH… smart move eh… doh!
10 Mar 2012, 10:22 am
And thats why the cheetahs and the lions will once again be the bottom-feeders of the comp. Lions lost a home game to the worst NZ team and the Cheetahs choked, with the help of poor refereeing , against the worst Auz team. ‘The Cheetahs deserved the win’, but thats an old and overplayed song.
Considering the form the Chiefs and the Highlanders are in, the only teams they have a hope in beating are the Force and the Rebels. And who knows if they will be able to beat those teams! Bring on the Kings,but pleaaase get rid of the Lions AND the Cheetahs. Its soo disappointing and pathetic to see the cheetahs loose time and time again. They just dont have what it takes. Id give the Lions a chance, but being bankrupt doesnt help their cause. Id rather see the Kings loose every weekend, but having 3 teams struggling every weekend is a embarrassment. And we want to be the best in the world, loosing so much cant be good for the players confidence and self belief !
10 Mar 2012, 10:23 am
IMO
10 Mar 2012, 10:32 am
The refereeing was poor, the brumbies engaged early almost 80% of the time, but the cheetahs got penalized! But they lost because their defense was poor once again. Against a better team they would have been beaten convincingly. They should blame their defense, and neutral parties should complain about the inconsistant and **** refereeing! Players gets sited, but why arent there a ref sighting committee? If the bugger is inconsistant he should at least be told about it. Otherwise the next team, most probably a SA team will be robbed again.
10 Mar 2012, 11:54 am
@Jeez(Jeez)-77:
I picked up the early engagement at the scrums as well. Quite pathetic actually.
10 Mar 2012, 12:06 pm
How many penalties did the Brumbies get in the last 20 minutes?
@Jeez(Jeez)-77:
Ja but the second last penalty was not for an early engage, it was because Strauss ‘moved his head’…
10 Mar 2012, 12:55 pm
ashley johnson loses the ball in contact ALL the bloody time: the fourth time he did it led to pat mcCabe’s try! that s(hit is not on!
he isn’t the only cheetahs player that doesn’t protect the ball…
no wonder adriaan strauss’ hair is always shaggy he must be pulling it all the damn time!
10 Mar 2012, 13:07 pm
@Slartibartfast(Slartibartfast)-79:
yeah, but unfortunately their defense cost them the game against a team that didnt play particularly well…not that penalty.
10 Mar 2012, 13:56 pm
@Jeez(Jeez)-81:
You cannot win against a ref intend on making sure the other team wins, defense will get you nowhere.
The reality is that their defense is poor, their ball retention is poor (just ask Trans) and they have a kuk coach but they should have and would have won if not for the ref.
10 Mar 2012, 13:57 pm
Yapple streudel’ed
10 Mar 2012, 14:04 pm
so you thought bryce could ref a match to kak and back..?..
no, there are dark horses riding…
10 Mar 2012, 14:05 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-80:
The Cheetahs were in the game through out and had their chances, it always the case when they play under a referee who is not a S African!
It may be something to think about!
10 Mar 2012, 14:13 pm
@Slartibartfast(Slartibartfast)-82:
When did the Cheetahs manage to win last time under Jonker, Joubert or Mark Lawrence control?
With a NZ referee the Cheetahs at least were in contention for 80 minutes, taking into account the flying East jet lag and being the visiting team, a loss by 1 point is not bad at all
10 Mar 2012, 15:28 pm
@bryce_in_oz(bryce_in_oz)-74: “paying leagues in SH”???
Where the **** do you think the kiwis and ausies will get enough money to pay their players when SA pulls out? From the gates? Yah right. Just look at your crowd attendance. From tv rights? Yah right, that figure will decrease quickly.
“Paying league in NH”? Well, I agree with you on that one.
Fact is, NZ made their bed with the ausies. They sold their souls when they agreed to stuff the Japies because we don’t share their accent, because we don’t share their population make-up, and because they don’t like our coach. WTF was wrong with Peter de Villiers? At least he was funny. ******* racists the whole lot of arsseholes.
If nz or aus play against any group of terrorists, I’ll support the latter. Have no respect left for those pielkoppies. Soul-less, moral-less bunch.
LOL. Have a good one.
10 Mar 2012, 15:41 pm
A case of NZ returning the favor (for WC?). The cycle will continue. Soul-less.
10 Mar 2012, 16:27 pm
Both teams are rubbish . You Africans have short memories. Marius Plonker killed any chance the Canes had against the Stormers
10 Mar 2012, 16:54 pm
Go to hell, Level. We are dealing here with a syndicate of crooked
refs. Not even lie detector tests and criminal profiling can weed out
this rot.
10 Mar 2012, 17:54 pm
@YoMama(YoMama)-64: This should have been done nearly ten years ago! We’ve been losing tests because of refs for a very long time now. The fact that the exposed email about NZ and Aussie refs wanting to “get those jarpies” didn’t lead to an investigation makes the IRB look more than a little dodgey. We all know that every sport is corrupt to some degree; but rugby takes it to a whole new level. When they say it’s New Zealand’s game… I never thought they meant they bought it, lol.
10 Mar 2012, 18:00 pm
@Dazzler(Dazzler)-46: It was a throw-back to the World Cup final!
11 Mar 2012, 03:27 am
@Kleuter(Kleuter)-87:
You think your team is the only one that gets shafted by poor refereeing?
As for sailing off to cooler waters leaving us poor Oceanians to fend for ourselves, heard it before, just a fantasy.
I wasn’t a fan of Pdiv because he was a plonker.
The ANZAC spirit will hopefully live on well after Ive left this earth, God defend Nz and God bless Australia.
11 Mar 2012, 04:38 am
http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/sport/rugby/6521857/Chiefs-bemoan-unequal-treatment-by-ref
11 Mar 2012, 04:40 am
@level(level)-89:
I doubt any of us will argue with you on that one.
Jonker did the Stormers a favour.
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