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Even South African fans stunned as TMO decision rubs out Crusaders' match-winning try

Damian Willemse's similarities to Alex Goode will be welcomed by Saracens (Photo by Shaun Roy/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

The Crusaders have failed to beat a South African side for the second time in three weeks, coming away from Newlands with a 19-all draw against the Stormers.

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It seemed that the Crusaders would take the match when in-form wing Sevu Reece blistered down the sideline in the 75th minute before chipping ahead into the Stormers backfield. A fortuitous bounce found its way back into Reece’s hands to score what would’ve been a match-sealing try. A contentious TMO decision ruled a forward pass in the lead-up by Braydon Ennor to deny the score.

https://twitter.com/theyellowcap/status/1129793085054095361

The ball did appear to sail forward from Ennor’s pass that left his hands on halfway and was caught by Reece a few metres in front of that, but whether he propelled the ball backward out of the hands remains contentious.

The Stormers have not been without refereeing controversy this season when the visiting Lions were undone by questionable penalties to keep the game going which resulted in a try in the 85th-minute to win the match for the home side in Round 2. The match was refereed by former Stormers player Egon Seconds.

The ensuing scrum gave the Stormers the platform they needed to make a last-ditch effort at stealing the win, which they earnt a penalty from to set-up a grandstand finish. They could have taken the match themselves when a try went begging to Damian Willemse who knocked-on a cross-field kick with the line begging.

With advantage being played for high tackle, Stormers captain Siya Kolisi opted to kick a penalty goal to tie the match instead of going for the win.

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Nickers 35 minutes ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

I thought we made a lot of progress against that type of defence by the WC last year. Lots of direct running and punching holes rather than using width. Against that type of defence I think you have to be looking to kick on first phase when you have front foot ball which we did relatively successfully. We are playing a lot of rugby behind the gain line at the moment. They are looking for those little interchanges for soft shoulders and fast ball or off loads but it regularly turns into them battering away with slow ball and going backwards, then putting in a very rushed kick under huge pressure.


JB brought that dimension when he first moved into 12 a couple of years ago but he's definitely not been at his best this year. I don't know if it is because he is being asked to play a narrow role, or carrying a niggle or two, but he does not look confident to me. He had that clean break on the weekend and stood there like he was a prop who found himself in open space and didn't know what to do with the ball. He is still a good first phase ball carrier though, they use him a lot off the line out to set up fast clean ball, but I don't think anyone is particularly clear on what they are supposed to do at that point. He was used really successfully as a second playmaker last year but I don't think he's been at that role once this year. He is a triple threat player but playing a very 1 dimensional role at the moment. He and Reiko have been absolutely rock solid on defence which is why I don't think there will be too much experimentation or changes there.

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