If the Crusaders miss the playoffs, as they are now likely to, they will look back on many frustrating matches this season but few will be as painful as Saturday's 32-22 defeat to the Waratahs.
Their night began badly when fullback Israel Dagg, who had been named in the reserves following a long spell out with a calf injury, hurt himself in the warm-up at ANZ Stadium so the Crusaders had only seven players on the bench.
It improved when Nemani Nadolo scored in the corner after only two minutes but then a stream of errors allowed the Waratahs back in, with inexperienced referee Marius van der Westhuizen failing to act when presented with at least three acts of foul play by lock Will Skelton.
Skelton and hooker Silatolu Latu were involved in a tip tackle on Crusaders lock Sam Whitelock in which both were equally culpable but only Latu was sinbinned, and Skelton later put a cheap shot on Richie McCaw and a second one on Whitelock when the All Blacks lock was prone in a ruck.
All three incidents were reviewed by van der Westhuizen and TMO Peter Marshall but Skelton's luck held, although he was later cited for the tackle on Whitelock.
To make matters worse, McCaw spent the last 10 minutes of the match in the sinbin for a ruck infringement as his team tried to continue a comeback which saw them go from 25-8 to 25-22, only for Bernard Foley to have the final say with a converted try.
Crusaders assistant coach Dave Hewett had no doubt about Skelton's attack on McCaw, who had his back turned to the 138kg Wallaby.
"It was a cheap shot on Richie that hit him from behind, no arms and also unexpected as well. That was a bit frustrating but they obviously saw something we didn't," Hewett said.
Dagg is likely to miss his team's remaining matches against the Hurricanes, Blues and Brumbies, with Colin Slade also leaving the field with a thigh injury and skipper Kieran Read missing most of the second half after a head knock.
It was more disappointment for the Crusaders in what was a replay of last year's final won by the Waratahs in the final minutes thanks to a long-range Foley penalty awarded by ref Craig Joubert on McCaw which he later admitted was wrong.
By Patrick McKendry of NZME. News Service
