1
Fans call into question the Crusaders' tactics as repeated warnings go unpunished
By Online Editors
The Crusaders played spoilers on Friday night with a comprehensive 43-17 win over the Highlanders on what was Ben Smith's 150th appearance for the club.
After a tight first half where the Highlanders built an early 10-0 lead, the Crusaders exploded with 36 unanswered points, overcoming a 10-7 half time deficit.
However, despite the brilliance of the Crusaders, their questionable contests at the breakdown came under the spotlight as referee Ben O'Keeffe failed to take action until the 80th minute.
After repeated warnings, only after the fulltime buzzer did he decide to go to the pocket to yellow card Crusaders replacement prop Ben Funnel.
Highlanders captain Ben Smith was heard on the referee mic early in the match asking the referee to police the ruck area as he said his side wanted to play with tempo and was concerned the Crusaders were deliberately slowing the ball down.
The Hurricanes who were hammered by the Crusaders 32-8 in Wellington also suffered similar issues and it was again referee Ben O'Keeffe who left the breakdown unmanaged.
Will anyone be able to stop the Crusaders if they are allowed to make a mockery of the ruck every week?
Rugby World Cup city guide - Tokyo:
Trending on RugbyPass
2
Jake White: Ireland, Australia and Wales have the same problem
3
David Campese names his Springbok world player of the year winner
4
Let's be real about these All Blacks
5
Latest Comments
Borthwick has obviously earned the right to expect people to look elsewhere when the sort of personal problems likely at the heart of Jones' departure occur but it's hard to believe he's, if not entirely to blame, at least most of the problem.
England see between choices in every aspect of their play
Go to commentsBM My rugby fanaticism journey began as a youngster waking up in the early hours of the morning with a cup of coffee to watch the Boks play the ABs on that 1981 rebel tour, where we lost the last game in the dying seconds to a penalty, and ended up losing the series 2-1. Danie Gerber, Naas Botha, Ray Mordt, and DuPlessis, to name a few; what a team! I believe we could've won another World Cup with those boys playing in their prime.
Go to comments