Last night's nailbiter between the Highlanders and the Crusaders was an instant classic, reckons ODT Online rugby writer Jeff Cheshire, as he picks out his key points from the game.
Well what a game of rugby that was. If you put the result aside (or don't, depending on who you cheer for), there was nothing not to like about that. The swings in momentum, the war at the breakdown, the drama of the finish, the desperation on defence and the brilliant tries scored made for a game for the ages.
These two sides have played some good games over the years, but this one probably takes the cake as the best of the lot and would be right up there with the most exciting games the Highlanders have ever played. It was so refreshing to see two teams who came with the intention of playing rugby and having the ability to execute it, an advantage of playing in an indoor stadium with perfect conditions.
Battle of the breakdown
The players in this game were throwing themselves into the breakdown with no self-preservation in mind. It was simply brutal the way they were attacking the ball, especially the Crusaders on defence and when chasing kicks. This forced the Highlanders to commit numbers and they had to withstand plenty to ensure they held on to the ball. They did well in this area, although the Crusaders probably did get the better of them, with Richie McCaw reminding us what a master he can be at ruck time and was arguably the difference between the two teams.
Yellow card no excuse for missed tackles
This is more an in-general point, rather than pointing specifically at the instance in this game. So often a team will make a run when their opposition is a man down, with the critics usually pointing towards the man in the bin as a key factor. Now clearly it does have a big influence on the game, but it should not be used as an excuse for poor play, nor should it take away from the good play of the team a man up.
In this game while McCaw was in the sin bin, the Highlanders scored two tries. The first came as a result of mounting pressure and a nice angle into a gap from Ged Robinson that was always going to be tough to stop, even with an extra man. Perhaps it could be argued that the gap would not have been there had McCaw been on, but it was still the result of a build up of pressure that led to an inevitable try.
The second try saw two defenders fall off Patrick Osborne as he rampaged over to score in the corner. Now while it did not help to have the man in the bin, the Crusaders did have two men in position to make the tackle and failed to do so, the numbers were not the issue. Having a man down should not be an excuse for missing tackles when the players are already in position.
High skill level
It was so good to see so many players looking threatening and playing well. The skill level was high and several players showed their quality. Malakai Fekitoa springs to mind, making constant inroads into the defence and proving almost impossible to pull down first time. Nemani Nadolo was much the same, brushing aside defenders at will and attracting plenty of attention from the Highlanders. He made constant breaks and got the Crusaders plenty of go-forward that gave them the momentum early in the second half.
Patrick Osborne and Ben Smith both made their share of breaks too, while the two halfbacks showed great control and patience to use their forwards well. There were a lot of nice offloads on show which stretched the defence, while the error rate was low all night and made for some scintillating running rugby.
Great defence
Following on from the point above, the numerous breaks and great tries were not a result of poor defence. Both teams showed tremendous commitment, typified by the resilience the Crusaders showed in the final passage where they did outstandingly well to hold the Highlanders out. As dangerous as Nadolo was, the Highlanders scrambled well to cut him down, particularly Richard Buckman. The tries were inevitable, when withstanding that amount of pressure combined with such a high level of ball control and skill.
The final decision was the right one
It was a big decision and anyone who has ever refereed a game will know that making a decision such as this in the heat of the moment is far from easy. While every Highlanders fan would have seen it and wanted to believe it was a try, unfortunately it probably wasn't. It was a close-call and a 50-50 in every sense of the word, but that does not mean it should automatically go the Highlanders' way.
In the end the ball was touching the sideline and it matters not whether it was half a blade of grass or on the other side of the white line. It was no more a try than the one Lions were disallowed two weeks earlier in the dying moments under the posts. The Highlanders have had a handful of 50-50 decisions go their way in recent weeks and at the end of the day, you cannot have them all.
