Well down spicy but five points doesn't sound like a thrashing to me buddy
It sounds like you guys paid off another referee just like the old days see below...
Typical South African cheating.......
The Crusaders have suffered a controversial, heart-breaking defeat to the Bulls in Pretoria after Francois Hougaard's contentious late try sealed a stunning victory for the Super 14 leaders.
In a thrilling match, sure to provoke plenty of debate over some of the key rulings, the Bulls snatched a 40-35 victory via Hougaard's second try of the match, coming as the home side made their final roll of the dice after the final hooter had sounded.
At that stage the Crusaders had worked their way into a 35-33 lead via Dan Carter's nerveless 51-metre penalty, and left the Bulls needing to summon something special over the final minute or two to preserve their two-year, 18-match unbeaten record at Loftus Versfeld.
That they managed it appeared to owe more than a little to a couple of generous late rulings from referee Marius Jonker.
First the Crusaders appeared hard done by to concede a scrum feed when they looked to have held Pedrie Wannenburg up as the big loose forward was wrapped in the tackle.
But Jonker awarded the Bulls the put-in and from the ensuing frantic final play, the Crusaders got up to charge down an attempted dropped goal from Morne Steyn, then saw replacement hooker Bandise Maku, after a great run on the angle, appear to transfer the ball forward to Hougaard for the match-winning try.
But Jonker, after consultation with his assistant, ruled that the ball had come off Crusaders prop Own Franks and Hougaard's score was allowed to stand, much to the dismay of skipper Richie McCaw who protested vehemently.
Replays weren't conclusive, though it appeared at the very least that Maku's transfer was questionable, with the ball definitely travelling forward. It may have taken the slightest of touches from Franks, but there was no doubting the visitors' displeasure that yet another ruling had gone against them.
Ultimately Jonker's contentious decision cost the Crusaders three competition points, and whether it costs them a semifinal spot won't be known until after the final round plays out next weekend.
The Crusaders did pick up two bonus points courtesy of their four tries, taking them to 36 points on the standings -- a solitary point behind the Hurricanes. But they may remain vulnerable, depending on results elsewhere over the weekend.
The win continued the Bulls' outstanding record on their home ground, solidifies their lead at the top and seals home advantage for the semifinals. But it will not be without some debate from the visiting team who could probably feel hard done by to come out on the wrong side of the ledger.
Still, for all the controversy it was a high-quality match in which the Crusaders showed, not only a welcome return to form, but many of the champion qualities that appeared to have deserted them over the previous fortnight.
The plan to play at pace, and with width, very nearly worked, and there was no faulting the approach from the visitors who appear to have the tools to trouble these Bulls.
The Bulls, too, deserve credit for their stickability under pressure and their cool finish when all appeared lost. They are going to be tough to beat from here, you would think.
But the Crusaders just didn't get the breaks, with two of the Bulls tries questionable, and a number of borderline calls appearing to go against the New Zealanders. Morne Steyn also made them pay for their indiscretions, with a 25-point haul off the boot, the slick five-eighth slotting five penalties, two dropped goals and a couple of conversions.
The Crusaders were more than a shade unlucky to go into the sheds at halftime trailing 19-24 after a late Victor Matfield seven-pointer put their hosts in front for a lead they scarcely deserved on the balance of play.
Todd Blackadder's men dominated the opening 40 with a fast-paced, ball-in-hand style that had the Bulls struggling to cope with the lateral points of attack taken up by the New Zealanders.
Clearly part of Blackadder's master plan coming in, the Crusaders moved ball wide whenever they could and found plenty of holes in the home defence over the first half as they ran in tries to Brad Thorn, Andy Ellis and Sean Maitland.
But the Bulls, despite falling off an unusually high number of tackles, were able to hang close via a few too many handling errors from the Crusaders and some, er, fairly generous decisions in their favour from referee Jonker.
Jonker took a particularly hardline stance against Wyatt Crockett at scrum time, despite the Crusaders having the superiority at the set piece, and repeated penalties against the visiting loosehead eventually saw him replaced at halftime.
The referee also appeared to miss a pretty obvious offside from Bulls halfback Fourie du Preez from the ruck turnover that resulted in the Bulls' first try, to Derick Hougaard. It was just one of many tight calls that went against the Crusaders.
The Crusaders had made a storming start, with Thorn and Ellis both across inside the opening quarter as they stretched out to a 14-6 lead. Thorn completed a good forwards' try with hooker Ti'i Paulo doing well to set up his lock and Ellis finished a fabulous break from Carter after some good ball retention up front.
The Bulls then looked in a tight spot when centurion Danie Rossouw was yellow-carded for a dangerous tackle, but did well to win that 10-minute spell 8-5, with a Steyn penalty and Hougaard's first try (off du Preez's suspect intervention) countering a slick score from Sean Maitland.
And when the Bulls finished the half with a 10-0 scoring burst, via another Steyn penalty and Matfield's try as the home big men made Chris Jack pay for a bad missed tackle on Gary Botha, an unlikely 24-19 lead was taken into the sheds.
The Crusaders regained the lead, 26-24, early in the second spell when Paulo did well to finish at the second attempt off Ellis' pass, and from then on it was knife-edge stuff to the finish.
The lead chopped and changes as Steyn and Carter exchanged kicks, but when young Bulls winger Gerhard van den Heever was yellow-carded for a dangerous tackle a half-dozen minutes from the finish the worm appeared to turn the Crusaders' way..
Carter slotted the penalty for the 32-30 lead, Steyn replied with a dropped goal, then Carter his 51m blast.
And then it all ended in a blur, of controversy, and of success for the Bulls who had snatched another famous win on this fortress home ground of theirs.
It wasn't all doom for the Crusaders who brought plenty to the occasion and still remain in with a shot at another semifinal appearance.
There were signs Carter is finally coming into some form with a slick ball-in-hand game, Ellis had a huge return to starting duty while Zac Guildford was a constant menace, particularly when coming off his wing to inject himself into the backline.
Up front the visiting forwards laid on a great platform for the game they needed to play, with McCaw, Thorn, Paulo and Kieran Read particularly getting through a ton of work. They came within an ace of snatching a famous win, too.
