Saders surge into semis
21 Jul 2012
RYAN VREDE reports on the Crusaders’ 28-13 victory over the Bulls in which they were never stretched by the bumbling and lethargic South Africans.
Hail the play-off kings. The 15-point margin of defeat flatters the Bulls. Not for a minute did the Crusaders look like their imposing record in the knock-out stages would be tarnished. They were dominant in every facet of play, supremely so.
Their method was pragmatic and if there was anything spectacular about this performance it was found in the unfailing accuracy with which they execute a simple game plan. Add a measure of individual flair and you had a cocktail that incapacitated the Bulls. This was a statement performance that should concern their semi-final opponents.
For the Bulls, there is no shame in losing to the Crusaders in Christchurch. Indeed those who believed they would break their drought in the city had no real base for that belief. This Bulls side is vastly inferior, lacking the calibre of players and experience to have harboured serious ambitions of an upset.
However, while the result was not surprising, the quality of their error-strewn performance certainly was. They fed Dan Carter with kickable opportunities and paid the ultimate price, the flyhalf racking up 18 points with his boot.
It would be remiss not to credit the Crusaders for the manner in which they blunted the Bulls’ attacking intent. Physical, often brutal, and consistently accurate in defence, they simply bullied their visitors into submission. They owned the gainline, and the Bulls were rarely able find the space or time they needed to roll out their game plan. Consequently they were made to look rudderless for large periods of the contest, with their struggles compounded by the injury-enforced replacement of Chiliboy Ralepelle (10th minute), Bjorn Basson (37th) and Akona Ndungane (43rd).
Conversely the Crusaders were able to control the game’s flow, tempo and territory, with their halfback pair of Dan Carter and Andy Ellis orchestrating matters. The Bulls were unable to quell the Crusaders’ heavies in close quarters and conceded a string of penalties, two of which Carter banked before he added a conversion after expertly putting Zac Guilford through a hole in the defensive line with a perfectly timed pass.
Carter sunk a right-footed drop goal shortly thereafter to give his side a comfortable lead, but the hosts would have been acutely aware of their failings in the red zone which meant the Bulls were still alive at 16-3 going down the tunnel.
Carter capitalised on ill-discipline which has been a depressing feature of the Bulls’ campaign, kicking six more points just after the restart. But the Bulls found some groove, scoring through Dewald Potgieter after a powerful rolling maul.
The Crusaders were content to revert to a holding pattern, punching up through their forwards or inviting the Bulls to attack from deep by kicking in behind their back three. There would be no telling rebuttal from the three-time champions outside of a late Wynand Olivier try that served only to add a dash of respectability to the scoreline.
Crusaders – Try: Zac Guilford. Conversion: Carter. Penalty: Dan Carter (6), Drop goal: Carter
Bulls – Try: Dewald Potgieter, Wynand Olivier. Penalty: Morne Steyn
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318 Comments
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22 Jul 2012, 10:43 am
Entering a ruck from the side, what about half the Bulls teams entering the ruck from behind Ellis, cynical cheating all night late/high tackles what a joke after listening to Houston bleating like a lamb about the Crusaders for months on end.
22 Jul 2012, 10:44 am
and as for the Sharks and Kaplan enough said, he must have left his yellow cards in the refs office
22 Jul 2012, 10:49 am
@NZINCHINA-302: Hmmm, a bit like a quarter final i remember recently… but that referee was fine I guess, yes
22 Jul 2012, 10:56 am
@goyougoodthing2-303:
the Sharks were committing professional fouls on their own try line and should have been binned end of story, Bryce has already been crucified and had death threats I would have thought that was enough you boys will never learn, the Bulls and Sharks “cheated” your word not mine last night in spades
22 Jul 2012, 10:59 am
Who will ever take Bulls fans seriously again when they talk about cheating and other teams what a joke, nearly as funny as Steyns performance last night.
22 Jul 2012, 11:07 am
@NZINCHINA-304: Your logic then is because Bryce stole a world cup last year, it’s fine, but because there were infringements yesterday it is wrong.
What a joke that is.
Regardless, Sharks would still have won and Genia’s try was set up by a forward pass a Dallas Cowboy Quarterback would be proud of.
And whilst McCheat is playing rugby, the kiwis have no legs to stand on when it comes to cheating.
22 Jul 2012, 11:22 am
@goyougoodthing2-306</
you have said here the Sharks don't cheat, they cheated last night numerous times on their own goal line in front of a SAFFA ref are you disputing that?
22 Jul 2012, 11:24 am
@goyougoodthing2-299:
Did you know that in the last 6 x TriNs, since the tournament featuried 3 home games for each team, that the Springboks have only once avoided the Wooden Spoon. Essentially because they cant win at home.
Or away.
22 Jul 2012, 11:25 am
oh and is it infringements now, I thought you called it cheating?
22 Jul 2012, 12:02 pm
@The Donkeys Egg-308: No fair with PDV in charge of 4 of those, the manMuppet LOL
22 Jul 2012, 12:04 pm
@NZINCHINA-309: Infringements on the Sharks line, blatant outright cheating on the Ozzy line or any form of contact involving McCaw. Yes…
Sharks infringe
Ozzies and McCaw… cheat.
22 Jul 2012, 12:18 pm
@goyougoodthing2-311:
exactly, now where are those Bulls fans, Houston and Up the guts where are you, lots to discuss?
22 Jul 2012, 12:28 pm
@NZINCHINA-312: You do realise it’s all a windup…
In the paper today an ex (SA) referee said Kraplan was brilliant and Peyper was poor.
OK, so the result in both was never in question but I think that they both were ‘poor’ in terms of actually seeing the game.
The ex referee seemed to suggest that the Bulls would have done better if Peyper blew it properly!!!
Kraplan just missed everything.
22 Jul 2012, 12:46 pm
@goyougoodthing2-313:
yer from you but not 99% of the other Bulls fans, the reffing is poor overall, the speed of the game now makes it impossible for a ref to do a “great” job.
22 Jul 2012, 12:51 pm
The Stormers owe Mark Hammett and the Hurricanes a pallet of the Capes finest pinotage. Were it not for their valiant, but eventually in vain, victory over the Chiefs then the Stormers wouldnt have the luxury of Home priority in the playoffs and, Heaven forbid, they might even have had to face the Crusaders.
Instead, due to the NZ Conference being by far the toughest and most competitive, the Stormers have to face a limited team with a brittle spine in the Sharks and will then rest up as the smashed up Kiwis arrive via 4 timezones for the Final.
Its even funnier when you remember that if it wasnt for Bryce Lawrence awarding the winning try, that wasnt, then the Hurricanes would never have beaten the Chiefs and with it the Stormers their home advantage.
That Bryce. Always doing the Saffas a favour.
22 Jul 2012, 14:40 pm
@The Donkeys Egg-315: howdy doody WN – BP
22 Jul 2012, 18:27 pm
@NZINCHINA-314: Don’t call me a Bulls supporter, please, ever. I’d rather back Samoa for the fairplay awards.
23 Jul 2012, 02:46 am
Its pretty clear that teh bulls (and Boks) gameplan has a fault. they rely on the kick and chase in their half, and getting over the advantage line with big loosies. BUT if another team keeps the ball in hand in their half, and takes it through the hands without kicking it, and the bulls lose at the gainline, then they just dont have a fetcher to create turnovers in defence. As soon as the fetcher (Stegman) came on, the Crusaders could not get aout of their half as easily as before, and the Bulls got some decent possession (not just in their own half).
The Bulls need a game plan for when they are losing the collisions. They need to start keeping the ball alive by pop passing (a la the Sharks) and bringing on a fetcher.
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