cyRil
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CRUSADERS 28-13 BULLS
Carter penalises naive visitors
The Crusaders progressed to a Kiwi clash with the Chiefs in the Super Rugby semi-final next weekend after an assured victory over the Bulls on Saturday.
Despite outscoring their hosts 2-1 in tries, the South African province's poor discipline and lack of penetration or ideas with ball in hand means they exit the competition at the 'elimination finals' stage with little more than a whimper.
A tentative start from the home side saw some shaky backline play, with simple errors from Dan Carter and Ryan Crotty forcing the Crusaders onto the back foot and doing little to encourage the 16,000 inside AMI Stadium in Christchurch.
But when Bulls full-back Zane Kirchner was adjudged to have played the ball on the floor the hosts were given the chance for three points and Carter's shot from wide out crept inside the near post and opened the scoring to raucous applause.
Kirchner was enduring a torrid start and coughed up a turnover soon after the re-start following a colossal hit from opposition centre Robbie Fruean; a second penalty resulting soon after that Carter again converted.
The Bulls tight game was also giving them problems as 15th minute scrum was ruled against them and moments later Morne Steyn was penalised for not supporting his own body weight whilst jackling for the ball.
A fifth infringement with the first quarter completed gave Carter another opportunity from the tee, but to the surprise of the majority watching the All Blacks pivot pulled his effort wide from straight in front of the posts.
He wasn't the only fly-half with issues as from the resulting drop-out Springbok stand-off Steyn launched the ball out on the full and within minutes had attempted a raking kick cross-field - only for the ball to barely lift off the ground - followed swiftly by a panicked knock-on to leave the outside half thoroughly red-faced.
As one 10 floundered the other flourished, and great work from Carter to draw in two Bulls defenders opened up space outside where some simple, straight running from Guildford in support found the gap and rushed away for the game's opening try; the simple conversion making it 13-0.
Crusaders, led imperiously as usual by the brilliant Richie McCaw in the not-so-usual position of Number 8, were dominating in all aspects of the game. They offered a constant threat to the Bulls defensive line and were holding the upper hand in the set piece - illustrated by their demolition of visitors' scrum with 5 minutes to half-time that won possession back and gave another chance for Todd Blackadder's men to build pressure.
From the resulting line-out and with the referee holding an advantage in the hosts' favour, Carter spilled a ball backwards from the otherwise magnificent Richie McCaw; but with Bulls closing in the mercurial fly-half pirouetted and snapped an opportunistic drop goal right through the posts to further extend his side's lead.
Steyn landed a tricky penalty to give his side some respite and a small footing on the scoreboard, but the half had belonged to the Crusaders who had asserted their superiority with forward dominance and back play that possessed a much greater incisiveness than their bland and predictive opposition.
The Bulls had clearly been given a stern talking to during the interval as they came out in the second period like they had something to prove, but the increased intensity of their play did not last long and the aimless, pedestrian kicking of Steyn was soon being implemented again.
A late tackle by Juandre Kruger allowed Carter to increase the lead once more with his reliable left boot and a high shot from Steyn on his opposite enraged the partisan crowd and, after shaking himself down, Carter again landed the kick to make it 22-3.
The Bulls were continuing to find it difficult to impose any sort of tangible game-plan, thanks to the trademark spoiling work of McCaw, who always seemed to be first to the breakdown to snaffle ball as well as displaying admirable carrying abilities and work-rate in defence.
With quarter of an hour remaining some sterling work from the Bulls heavies was rewarded as Dewald Potgieter dived over off the back of a surging forward drive, but Steyn's conversion faded agonisingly away to keep the Crusaders' advantage at 14 points.
A fourth Carter penalty stretched the lead again with ten minutes to play and all but ensure the victory but a second try for the Bulls late on earned at least some pride back even though the result would not be affected.
Following sustained close pressure from the visitors the ball finally found its way out the the backs and a loose, boucing pass created uncertainty in defence and good work from Kirchner saw the full-back draw his man and offload well to create the opening for Wynand Olivier to dive over in the corner.
The conversion ricocheted back off the upright, but Carter's fifth penalty of the night made it 28-13 on the hooter; the result leaving the Bulls licking their wounds, the Crusaders marching on to Hamilton to fight it out with the Chiefs in a mouth-watering encounter in next Friday's semi-final.
Star Man: Richie McCaw (CRUSADERS)
Out of position, McCaw still demonstrated why he is considered by most as one of the best players in the modern game with strong carries, stronger tackling and the ineffable ability to be in the right place at the right time - especially at the breakdown.
5-metre Flop: Morne Steyn (BULLS)
It has been a tough season for Steyn - encapsulated by the booing he received in Port Elizabeth by his home crowd during South Africa's draw with England last month. His limited skill set is ruthlessly exposed as soon as his kicking game is countered and the slow and ineffectual fly-half of this term is a million miles away from the metronomic Lion-beater of 2009.
