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Fans call into question the Crusaders' tactics as repeated warnings go unpunished
The Crusaders played spoilers on Friday night with a comprehensive 43-17 win over the Highlanders on what was Ben Smith’s 150th appearance for the club.
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After a tight first half where the Highlanders built an early 10-0 lead, the Crusaders exploded with 36 unanswered points, overcoming a 10-7 half time deficit.
However, despite the brilliance of the Crusaders, their questionable contests at the breakdown came under the spotlight as referee Ben O’Keeffe failed to take action until the 80th minute.
After repeated warnings, only after the fulltime buzzer did he decide to go to the pocket to yellow card Crusaders replacement prop Ben Funnel.
They’ve won the game fair and square, but this ref has let the Crusaders off the hook with all these pens. Could’ve and should’ve had at least two yellows for all these pens #CRUvHIG
— Ben (@BencerasaIe) April 12, 2019
"You can't just keep giving away penalties."
Apart from the ones you've been giving away for the last 20 minutes.
Crusaders are the better side and deserved winners, but O'Keeffe has been horrendous.#CRUvHIG
— Ryan Nixon (@NewYorkNixon) April 12, 2019
That's about 4 times I've seen a crusader rip a ball out of a tackled players hands after his knees are on the ground…is the rule different for them? #CRUvHIG
— michael seymour (@mikecmore) April 12, 2019
https://twitter.com/littlesteve/status/1116628271813160960
Awful refereeing in this game. @crusadersrugby getting away with it big time #CRUvHIG
— Brumbies Boy (@brumby_fan) April 12, 2019
https://twitter.com/TafiaPrincess/status/1116630946055254016
Refs for sure left his cards in the shed #CRUvHIG
— Jenna Lloyd (@JennaMareeLloyd) April 12, 2019
#CRUvHIG a crusader played the ball off the ground in FRONT of the ref, and he let's it go??? WTF???
— 👋🏽 Joe (@joenotaverage) April 12, 2019
https://twitter.com/hutch_23_/status/1116623086688690176
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Highlanders captain Ben Smith was heard on the referee mic early in the match asking the referee to police the ruck area as he said his side wanted to play with tempo and was concerned the Crusaders were deliberately slowing the ball down.
The Hurricanes who were hammered by the Crusaders 32-8 in Wellington also suffered similar issues and it was again referee Ben O’Keeffe who left the breakdown unmanaged.
Will anyone be able to stop the Crusaders if they are allowed to make a mockery of the ruck every week?
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