The Crusaders booked their place in the Super Rugby semi-finals on Saturday with a 28-13 win over arch-rivals the Bulls in Christchurch.
The seven-time champions must now wait for the result of the second qualifier between the Reds and Sharks to find out whether they must travel to Hamilton to face the Chiefs or Cape Town to meet the Stormers.
History suggested that the Bulls, who have never won in Christchurch, were up against it. And with the penalty count heavily against them, the visitors struggled from the start to trail 16-3 at the interval.
The Bulls outscored the match winners by two tries to one but were the victims of their own mistakes against a polished Crusaders side that controlled the key periods of the game.
The core elements of the Bulls' game - their accurate kicking game, line-out and rolling maul - were malfunctioning horribly in the early stages, meaning they were unable to maintain any sort of pressure on the home side. And once the Crusaders got a decent lead, the result never looked in doubt.
Dan Carter was able to give the hosts a 6-0 lead early on after Zane Kirchner was penalised for not releasing and Dean Greyling was caught offside.
The lead was stretched to 13-0 when Zac Guildford scored the opening try on 26 minutes when Carter drew Steyn, opening a gap for the wing to race home untouched.
Carter added a cheeky drop goal (with his right foot!) to extended the gap to 16 points and although Steyn could pull three points back just before the break, the Crusaders were cruising.
The Bulls weren't helped by a series of injuries either as hooker Chiliboy Ralepelle and both wingers were forced off in the first 45 minutes.
The Crusaders were playing with impressive composure and their error-free display pushed the Bulls into further mistakes. Juandre Kruger was found offside and Steyn hit Carter high, allowing the All Black pivot to add six more points to leave the men in red 22-3 ahead.
The South African side were more accurate in the second period but the horse had already bolted. Just after the hour mark they finally executed a classic line-out and drive with Dewald Potgieter crashing over at the back of the maul.
Carter kept the scoreboard ticking, meaning Wynand Olivier's late try, following a good run from Kirchner, could hardly qualify as consolation for the team from Pretoria.
Man of the match: Dan Carter was his usual brilliant self and ended with a 23-point haul but we'll go for captain fantastic Richie McCaw who, despite playing out of position, showed the world he is still on top of his game.
Moment of the match: Once the home team had a solid lead thanks to Guildford's try, the Bulls were always going to battle to get back into the game.
Villains of the match: All those 'rugby fans' in Christchurch who stayed at home, leaving plenty of open seats at a small ground.
The scorers:
For Crusaders:
Try: Guildford
Con: Carter
Pens: Carter 6
Drop: Carter
For Bulls:
Tries: D. Potgieter, Olivier
Pens: Steyn
Crusaders: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Adam Whitelock, 13 Robbie Fruean, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Zac Guildford, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Richie McCaw (c), 7 Matt Todd, 6 George Whitelock, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements: 16 Quentin MacDonald, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Tom Donnelly, 19 Luke Whitelock, 20 Willi Heinz, 21 Tom Taylor, 22 Sean Maitland.
Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies (c), 7 Jacques Potgieter, 6 Dewald Potgieter, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Dean Greyling.
Replacements: 16 Willie Wepener, 17 Frik Kirsten, 18 Deon Stegmann, 19 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 20 Jano Vermaak, 21 Louis Fouché, 22 Francois Venter.
Venue: AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Keith Brown, Glen Jackson
Comments
ruckingkiwi says...
safehands, a rare talent to have those languages under the belt... It's Maori language week this week, I'll be testing you on Friday night :)
Posted 01:49 24th July 2012
rugby_rockstar says...
Well that was a slaughter! The Chiefs can beat The crusaders but its a monster semi final and both kiwi teams probably need the sharks to take out the stormers to save them from a marathon journey to SA and yet another massive match a week later.
Posted 15:29 23rd July 2012
isthatrightref says...
@ sukkadoits... someone cut your post short, I'm sure you meant "2nd to last game of the season in NZ" or similar :-) Interesting that both round-robin games were won by the away side, could be an omen?
Posted 11:48 23rd July 2012
ruckingkiwi says...
AWEBLAX, I think you'll find there are many empty seats because people have bigger things to worry about than a game of rugby, like for example, having to sleep in their car at night because their house is condemned or other such trivial little matters of the like.
duttydog, a bouncer with no hands wouldn't be much chop would he? Bit rough, Fruean is a good player but hasn't quite found his top gear yet, which is disappointing for all of us.
But wasn't it good to see the Crusaders smash the Bulls up front, in the tackle and at rucks, which forced Steyn to play way to deep and once that kicking game goes he has nothing else to give. If the Bulls are going to play that game they've got to implement it early and they tried crashing it up in the forwards for too long in the first half with no success. Wonder how Meyer will view this going forward, a Bulls 8, 9 , 10 doesn't look so promising.
Posted 02:00 23rd July 2012
safehands says...
@everyone......badza's comments were "Om eerlik te wees, my Bulle hat nog nooit'n kans gehad og wen"..... what that simply means is..... "To be honest, My Bulls never had a chance of winning".
His comments in Afrikaans had a few basic grammatical errors which would have given a weird result on google translator for those who cared enough to try. Any other translation services required gentleman, I am fluent in Welsh, English, Afrikaans and remember quite a bit of my Zulu too :)
As for the game on Friday night....c'mon the Saders!!!!!
Posted 01:32 23rd July 2012
Wallaroo says...
PR I have to agree with Swiwi, please can you advise all Afrikaans posters that this is an English forum - my paranoia is getting the better of me.
@zambokke LOL. Mate that's not very nice, I feel very involved supporting a team that has no problem propping up the table and demonstrate how to lose even in the ascendancy. Some the best analogies and anecdotes I have when doing business training or keynote speaking are from the Tahs.
Posted 12:48 22nd July 2012
sukkadoits says...
The Crusaders were clinical in their 2nd to last game of the season
Posted 09:15 22nd July 2012
Ramage says...
@kich am waiting for a post from ZAoorALLES_4E you know the one who predicted that his Bulls would thump the Cheatsaders and quote " No we have integrity we never play dirty or gouge."
Seems it was his team today that is the Bullcheats who tried every cheating trick in the book and were caught out and unmercifully caned by Jaco Peyper the South African referee. The Crusaders were dominant and the continued cheating by the Bulls plus their failed game plan played into the hands of the well organised Crusaders who kept their mistakes to a minimum and showed what it takes to play semis rugby. McCaw was outstanding and led from the front whereas alas Spies went missing in action. Just goes to show when you make outrageous statements they have a way of coming back to bite you hard on the bum.
Now all we await is news the clown who ran onto the field an hurled a bottle at Meleamu has been banned from Loftus. Or is he free to attend and do it again?
@meneer hang on a minute the final in Cape Town you could be right but don't write off the Sharks as I have a sneaky feeling they just might pull of this semi. I wonder what Martin Marais might think about this? Also whilst the Crusaders are building momentum I also would not write off the Chiefs. Either way the final could be in Cape Town, Hamilton or Christchurch. Whatever happens I'm sure we are in for two very exciting and hard fought semis but at least the final will be played in a city based on results and not geography.
Posted 04:52 22nd July 2012
cuw3100 says...
Does anyone wonder what the outcome would have been if the Crusaders played the Sharks and the Reds played the BUlls?
Maybe the S15 needs to have quarter finals with the top8 playing knockouts. Then atleast teams like Brumbies and Hurricanes would have also been in the mix. IMHO they deserved to have at least a shot at the plum after very good seasons, which IMHO most critics did not foresee.
Posted 04:31 22nd July 2012
duttydog says...
How good is Guildford at moment. Such a talent.
Freuan is such a talentless meathead. Crusaders packed with quality and legends and then there is freuan. Basically a bouncer with no hands
Posted 01:07 22nd July 2012
BillyMutt2 says...
Talent and class will always beat an outdated game plan, I guess - very happy for the Crusaders, I for one thought the Bulls might spring a surprise. But against a firing Crusaders team most would struggle. The Crusaders are in with a real shot at the title now.
I wonder what happened to the multitude of BokWhatevers... with a Saffa ref probably too hard to think up excuses... but nice to see some intelligent and gracious comments from the true SA supporters. You know, the ones who actually understand rugby.
Posted 00:47 22nd July 2012
AWEBLAX says...
@bazda. Kiwi reaction ehh!! Also another Kiwi reaction to the Crusaders playing finals rugby at home is complacency hence the empty seats, yep yep yep sad but true, well done guys, great game Superman McCaw, Go The Crusaders, Sharks, Chiefs and Stormers
Posted 23:55 21st July 2012
isthatrightref says...
Clinical display from Crusaders who did what they had to do & no more... dumb footy from Bulls esp Steyn - his forwards must be filthy that he kicked away so much ball & most of it poorly.
Bring on the Chiefs next week & go the mighty Shorks!
Posted 22:10 21st July 2012
ArmchairGeneral says...
Planet rugby: villain of the match... ?? Perhaps you forget chch is still a city traumatised by earthquake with tremors still regular. You should understand peoples reluctance to enter the stadium. Besides which the people are hard up recovering. Insensitive comment.
Posted 21:03 21st July 2012
meneer says...
Crusaders brilliant rugby, just so little to fault almost perfect at all aspects. I know my Bulls were up against it here, but really we were out classed at everything - forget about travelling etc. Can't see the Crusaders struggling next week, will be a tough final though in Cape Town. Credit to the Bulls too, we didn't take the easy game in Brisbane and that must say something for the squad. Thanks for an entertaining game & well done Crusaders.
Posted 16:34 21st July 2012
noord_transvaal says...
Crusaders smashed the Bulls thoroughly and no, not by cheating. I hope they do the same to the Chiefs next week as a Crusaders - Sharks final will be awesome. Don't think the Stormers can stop an in form Crusaders team. The Sharks might if they play like they did against the Reds. Better luck next year Bulls
Posted 15:39 21st July 2012
startledwombat says...
@swiwi
from a web-based translation service:
To be honest, my Bulls hat still nooit'n chance og to win
I translate this into dinkum Ocker thus:
Fair suck of the sav mate, the Bulls 're deader than a dingo tangled in a ute muster.
StartledWombat Translation Services: At your service.
Posted 15:38 21st July 2012
kpe12 says...
Spies shown for what he really is... a pretender. After watching the Sharks game I would love to see Kankowski vs Read/McCaw in the final.
Bulls cynical on defense. Carter showing his masterclass, ripping the ball off forwards, distributing and offloading.
I used to be excited about Guilford and Dagg joining the Crusaders a few years back, young talent to mold into world class players. But I'm going to drop Guilford from the ABs this year, that kid works hard but he makes some terrible decisions on the field and needs to work on his fundamentals. Dagg is not much better. I'd much rather have a JP Pietersen or a Kurtly Beale on my team.
Posted 14:26 21st July 2012
three6three6 says...
The CRUSADERS show their class yet again. Unfortunately, for the BULLS this was a game too far. The BULLS have a history of under achievement when playing in New Zealand. But congratulations to the BULLS you were worthy quater finalists.
The CRUSADERS will probably win again next week - against the CHIEFS, which will set them up for another final. The four best performing teams in the SUPER RUGBY competition are now through to the semi finals.
Posted 14:02 21st July 2012
Swiwi says...
@the editor. A few weeks back you told a guy who wanted to post in French that planet rugby was an english speaking forum? Is there an exception for Afrikaans?
Posted 14:00 21st July 2012