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Hurricanes' South African signing Kobus Van Wyk has brain fade gifting Crusaders win
By Online Editors
With the score tied 25-all with fifteen minutes remaining, the Crusaders and Hurricanes were locked in a tit-for-tat affair at Sky Stadium in Wellington.
With his first touch of the bench, the Hurricanes' South African signing Kobus van Wyk had a nice piece of kick coverage turn into a nightmare as he threw a pass 5-metres from his own line back in-field to a waiting Mitch Drummond, who found Richie Mo'unga for a gift score.
The pass reminded Kiwi fans of Australian Rugby League fullback Billy Slater's infamous pass to Benji Marshall in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, with Van Wyk trying to avoid going into touch with possession of the ball.
The Hurricanes were broken by Van Wyk's moment of bad judgement. Shortly after Mo'unga's try, the in-form David Havili sliced through a feeble Hurricanes line off a Mitch Drummond flat pass to put the Crusaders up 39-25 to completely ice the game.
The Hurricanes now go into the bye week with two losses from their opening two games while the Crusaders move on to take on the also winless Chiefs.
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Latest Comments
I’m looking forward to attending the Twickenham match, I don’t think it will have a bearing on the outcome of the grand prize itself but it will tell us more about each teams’ preparation and game plan. It’s hard to look past one of the big four (I’m including Canada) lifting the trophy in 2025 but sport is a curious thing, there will still be twists and turns in road ahead.
Go to commentsThe better side seems to be the losing side a lot these days. As far as narrative goes. Must be the big emergent culture of “participation awards” that have emerged in nanny states. ”It looked like New Zealand would take the game from there but lapses in execution let South Africa get back into the game. New Zealand’s goal kickers left five points out there, including a very make-able penalty on the stroke of half”. Sounds like a chronic problem… I wonder how the better team has lapses in concentration and execution? Or are those not important factors in the grand scheme of total performances? In 2023, the ABs at least didn’t give up a lead to lose. They just couldn’t execute to get the points and take the lead. This Baby AB result points to a choke - letting the game slip through your fingers. In the words of the great Ricky Bobby’s dad - “If you’re not 1st you’re last!” Loosely translated - if you didn’t win, you’re a loser.
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