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Crusaders 27 Chiefs 13 - Immediate reaction
By Jamie Wall
The Crusaders booked themselves a place in next weekend's Super Rugby final, and there's a few talking points from their win over the Chiefs.
- The Crusaders had only a third of the ball for the entire game, and most of that came in the last 20 minutes. The Chiefs didn't even play badly, but should've really lost by 21 points had it not been for that late try. What are the Crusaders capable of with a bit of parity in possession?
- Where the hell is everyone in Christchurch? That crowd was disgraceful for a semi final, and there's no bad weather excuse like last week. Your team is looking good for their first title in nine years, and you can't even fill up a stadium that's tiny anyway? Shame on you, Crusaders fans.
- Should there be a rule that if a ref awards a try, it stands no matter what? Tim Nanai-Williams' try in the first half could've really changed the outlook of the game, but it was rubbed out on review. This was despite ref Glen Jackson signaling it good and Damian McKenzie about to line up the kick. It's pretty stupid that it gets that far before the TMO decides to get in his ear about it, besides, shouldn't the ref's call be final?
- Sonny Bill's appeal is a bit of a moot point. NZ Rugby should probably give up trying to get SBW off his ban that'll see him miss the Bledisloe Cup game. Ryan Crotty and Jack Goodhue had a big hand in the Crusaders' defensive effort, and crested some good stuff on attack. Meanwhile Charlie Ngatai and Anton Lienart-Brown were standouts for the Chiefs. The All Blacks have plenty of options in the midfield, and that's not even counting Ngani Laumape.
- Damian McKenzie still looks like a total creep when he kicks goals. That weird smile...what's he up to?
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Latest Comments
Were you shocked by Sexton trying to rip Barrett's head off when he scored that final try in that return game?
Sexton once again the beneficiary of incredible double standards. Some of the rules simply didn't apply to him. The referee even watched that replay about 5 times in slow motion to see if he grounded the ball. If an NZ player had made that tackle it would have been a yellow card.
Ireland led by Sexton were the biggest bunch of whingers to ever play the game. NZ's dislike of Ireland was not caused by losing to them, it was caused by the Irish players, commentators and media being such giant crybabies.
I genuinely think Ireland are the best team in the world, and I think they will beat the ABs on Friday, but they are by some distance the team I like the least, and I know many people, not just from NZ, who feel the same.
Go to commentsThanks for the analysis Nick, thought provoking as usual. Couple of queries though, in the pic where you've circled Williams bind , I'm pretty sure it shows Stuart's knee on the ground, surely that's a NZ penalty? Also having had the chance to watch it again the All Black scrum seeems to improve after halftime, but before either England or the All Blacks replace their props. Not sure if that was the result of Tuipolutu coming on or some halftime tips. Either way this is only Williams second international season, so he'll be better for the experience.
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