Wing Francois Hougaard scored a controversial late try to give defending champions Northern Bulls of South Africa a 40-35 win over Canterbury Crusaders of New Zealand on Friday and a Soweto semi-final.
The Crusaders said there was a knock-on before Hougaard dived over for his second try of a southern hemisphere championship thriller at Loftus Versfeld, but big-screen replays showed Kiwi prop Owen Franks knocked the ball back.
Springbok fly-half Morne Steyn converted to raise his match tally to 25 points, which included his first two drop goals of the season, while rival pivot and All Black Dan Carter kicked 15 points for the seven-time champions.
PHOTO: EPA
It was a match the Crusaders could have won as their backs and forwards ran at the Bulls from start to finish with the 1,800m Highveld altitude having no effect and the tries were a masterclass in slick handling and superb support.
The Bulls have been incredibly resilient at “fortress” Loftus this season and heads never bowed even when the team was run ragged at times early in the opening half.
The May 22 semi-final will mark the first time a South African rugby union franchise plays in the famous black township south-west of Johannesburg as Loftus is unavailable because of FIFA World Cup preparations.
Bulls wiped out a 10-point deficit to lead 24-19 at half-time in one of the most exciting games of the 15-year competition and local players in the South Africa World Cup squad were among those there to cheer them on.
The blue-clad South Africans snatched victory with 14 men after young right wing Gerhard van den Heever was yellow carded by South African referee Marius Jonker six minutes from full-time for a spear tackle.
Bulls lock and captain Victor Matfield praised the South African touch judge who cleared the Hougaard try: “Replays proved it was the correct decision and the touch judge made a great call.”
He also showered praise on the Richie McCaw-led visitors: “They are a great championship side who caught us out a few times. Crusaders are the best side this competition has seen.”
Veteran Bok Matfield presented a framed Bulls jersey signed by the entire squad to national football coach Carlos Alberto Parreira and his footballers after the game.
WARATAHS 46, CHIEFS 19
A rampaging New South Wales Waratahs stormed back into the Super 14 top four with a 46-19 demolition of the Waikato Chiefs in Hamilton, New Zealand, yesterday.
It was a must-win game for the Waratahs in the penultimate round of pool play and after not winning out of Australia all year they responded to the challenge with seven tries, to ensure a bonus point.
By halftime they had a commanding 20-0 lead, showing no hangover from last week’s shock loss to cellar-dwellers the Otago Highlanders, and while the Chiefs bagged three late tries the result was never in doubt.
BRUMBIES 31, HIGHLANDERS 3
The ACT Brumbies thrashed the Otago Highlanders 31-3 yesterday to keep alive their semi-final hopes and give retiring flanker George Smith the perfect send-off in front of home fans.
Flyhalf Matt Toomua emerged the hero for the Brumbies, scoring a fourth try in the dying minutes to collect a vital bonus point that lifted the team into fourth place.
The Brumbies will battle with the sixth-placed Canterbury Crusaders in Christchurch, New Zealand, next week for the right to a postseason berth in the season’s final round.
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