You could blame the Cavaliers.
You could blame political correctness or it could be those men from that 13-man game which caused it.
Take a look at this year's Super 15 table and the Highlanders are sitting just outside the all-important top six.
They have won nine and lost four, and have just three games left to play.
But somehow four of the six sides ahead of them have not won as many matches as the Highlanders.
Sure the bye, and the daft logic of how you get four points for not playing, affects the standings on the ladder, but bonus points are having a big impact on the make-up of the season.
The Highlanders have picked up just four bonus points this season, while the side one point above them - the Sharks - has nine bonus points.
The men from Durban have played the same number of games as the Highlanders and have lost one more game than the New Zealand team. But they have won big when they have won.
And because four of their five losses have been close they have picked up lucky loser points.
But they have still lost. As any Highlanders or Otago fan of the past five years can tell you, losing close games is not a pleasure.
Why should there be a reward for getting close?
The team tried hard but was not quite good enough at the key times to win the game.
It is a sort of silver medal when really only the gold medal is handed out.
Quite rightly the Stormers are second on the table having won 10 of their 12 games.
Yet, the Bulls are only two points behind them, but have lost two more games.
The losing bonus point was first introduced to New Zealand domestic rugby in 1986.
Before that it was two points for a win, one for a draw, and nothing else.
But some bright spark at rugby union HQ in Wellington thought a bonus point should be given to teams which got within seven points.
Possibly the NZRU top brass might have been too busy trying to control the political footballs flying around from the Cavaliers' tour of South Africa, or planning for the following year's World Cup, but it was passed with little fanfare.
The almanac of the day did not even note the changes to the points.
Then 10 years later when rugby went professional, it was all about entertainment.
That meant scoring tries, so it was decided those teams which scored four or more tries got another point.
The threat from league across the Tasman was big so it was thought more incentive was needed for sides to attack and score five-pointers.
Maybe that is fair enough, and there is a thrill when scoring a try, but still the game at the highest level is about winning and losing.
Remember back in 1997 when the Highlanders conceded 75 points against the Sharks yet still got a bonus point as they scored six tries of their own.
Last week, the Rebels leaked 66 points but were one try away from getting a bonus point.
Hardly seems right to reward teams for appalling defensive efforts.
In French club rugby, they have a try bonus point but it only goes to teams which score three tries or more than their opponent.
So if one team scores four tries but lets in two it does not get a bonus point.
Sounds a lot fairer and rewards an all-round game.
Bonus points though seem to just stick with rugby.
The NRL does not have them.
Neither do the NBA, NFL and major league baseball in the United States - it all comes down to winning and losing.
But any talk of getting rid of bonus points in rugby is about as vocal as Marcel Marceau.
It looks like we are stuck with them.
Just like Captain Hurricane, Steve Walsh's nice hair and those halftime player interviews.
Highlanders
Bonus points
2007 7
2008 7
2009 10
2010 7
2011 5
