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Who had Saturday night's best finish: Crusaders, Sharks or Cowboys?
By
Jamie Wall
A 21-point turnaround? An 81st-minute winner off a hopeful kick infield? Or a horrible drop goal attempt that turned into a golden point triumph? Jamie Wall tries to pick a winner from Saturday night’s trio of heartstoppers.
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Saturday night saw three games with three huge finishes across Super Rugby and the NRL.
In Dunedin, the Crusaders rose from the dead to beat the Highlanders 30-27, while in Canberra the Sharks pulled off a memorable finish to defeat the Brumbies 27-22.
Meanwhile, the NRL roared back into life when the Cowboys managed to top the Raiders 20-16 with perhaps the craziest match winner you’ll ever see.
Which was the best? Let’s examine the mitigating factors:
The comeback: Both the Sharks and Cowboys went try-for-try with their opposition for 80 minutes, so the Crusaders’ turnaround was stratospheric in comparison. They were helped by a Highlanders team that first forgot how to scrum, then tackle, then even organise their bodies in a coherent line across the field.
Playing away: The Cowboys were in front of their Townsville faithful, so that rules them out. Meanwhile, the Sharks were a long, long way from home, but Canberra in early March isn’t quite the frozen fortress it can be for visiting sides. Meanwhile, the Crusaders had to put up with a big home crowd, and an indoor setting that amplified the very dated pop tunes played over the stadium PA to an almost unbearable level. However, maybe it was the lyrics of ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’ that inspired the Crusaders?
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Rewarding long-suffering fans: There’s only one horse in this race, because you only have to go back as far as last week to know what the reality of being a Sharks fan is. Over their 21 years in Super Rugby they’ve won absolutely nothing, despite making four finals and traditionally being one strongest unions in South Africa. In contrast, the Cowboys won a premiership only two seasons ago, while the Crusaders can boast seven Super Rugby titles.
Effect on the commentators: ‘TAKE THAT!’ from Rugby Pass’s own Scotty Stevenson in Dunedin, while Fox Sports Andrew Voss wanted whoever was sitting next to him to ‘SHOW US THE MONEY!’. However, the clearly bitter Australian Super Rugby commentators just seemed to be at pains to point out how the Sharks had ‘stolen’ the result.
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Irony value: This has to go with the Cowboys, or more specifically the Raiders – it was only last season the men in green managed to pull off a wild and very similar finish in golden point extra time. So they really should’ve been wise to the possibility of Thurston’s toe-poke of a field goal attempt going so horribly wrong for them.
Verdict: Depending on whether you’re from Christchurch, Durban or Townsville, it’d be hard to sway your viewpoint given the outcomes of the games. But, for the casual observer, it’s hard to go past the Crusaders given that they weren’t relying on the bounce of the ball to win the game.
But if you haven’t seen them yet, drop whatever you’re doing and watch all these games immediately to make up your own mind.
