The Crusaders blew a chance to go top of the New Zealand conference when they lost 33-20 to an Ashley Johnson-inspired Cheetahs for their second consecutive defeat in Bloemfontein this morning.
Richie McCaw’s men dominated territory and possession but Johnson, who scored the match-clinching try, and his fellow forwards produced a Herculean defensive effort to put the Crusaders under pressure and force them into costly errors.
The Crusaders failed in their bid to win three out of three games on tour for the first time since 2008 after epic earlier wins over the Western Force and the Stormers. They remain five points behind the Blues, who lead the New Zealand conference despite a loss to the overall leaders, the Queensland Reds on Friday night.
Compounding the Crusaders’ recent injury woes, star second five-eighth Sonny Bill Williams hobbled off at halftime with a knee injury.
But McCaw, who returned from concussion a fortnight ago and Dan Carter, playing his first game in six weeks after tearing a hamstring, got through their comebacks unscathed. McCaw was his usual effective presence at the breakdown apart from a brief spell in the blood bin early in the second half. Carter, who contributed a try and seven points with his boot, was replaced after 50 minutes in a pre-planned, precautionary move.
The Crusaders led 17-16 at halftime despite a spirited challenge from the Cheetahs, who put the seven-time champions under pressure at the breakdown.
First five-eighth Sias Ebersohn put the home team ahead 3-0 in the fourth minute when the Crusaders were caught offside at a ruck but Carter equalised after a scrum penalty four minutes later.
Robbie Fruean, making his first start on the right wing in place of the injured Sean Maitland created the break which led to the Crusaders’ first try in the 10th minute. Fruean fooled the Cheetahs defence with a deft step and a big fend to send left wing Zac Guildford scuttling away to score down the right-hand channel. Carter’s conversion gave the Crusaders a 7-3 lead.
Carter goalled from 37m in the 15th minute to extend the margin to 10-3 but the Cheetahs were back on level terms just four minutes later.
Guildford dropped a high kick from Sias Ebersohn under aerial pressure from Cheetahs fullback Riaan Viljoen. Nippy halfback Sarel Pretorius darted towards the Crusaders line but was stopped short but the Cheetahs had too many men lurking on the overlap and centre Robert Ebersohn dotted down for twin brother Sias to convert.
Two Sias Ebersohn penalties gave the Cheetahs a 16-13 lead before the Crusaders wrested back the advantage with an 11-phase try. Williams helped maintain the momentum with a trademark offload to McCaw, who was tackled near the line. But the Crusaders moved the ball through the chain and Carter produced a little feint to wrong-foot his marker and score. He added a difficult, angled conversion for a hard-earned halftime lead.
Willams did not return for the second half and was replaced by Brent Ward, playing his first game for the Crusaders in four years, on his 32nd birthday. Ward went on to the right wing with Fruean reverting to his regular role at centre.
Carter was uncharacteristically astray with a penalty attempt in the 44th minute and the Cheetahs made the Crusaders pay with a counter attack try. Viljoen put halfback Willi Heinz under pressure at a ruck to force a turnover, Pretorius fed Johnson, who unleashed a Sonny Bill-style offload for Sias Ebersohn to scoot down the left flank and stand up fullback Tom Marshall with a deft jink inside. He converted his own try to give the Cheetahs a crucial nine-point lead, at 26-17.
Despite dominating possession and territory, the Crusaders found it difficult to create clearcut opportunities on attack. Matt Berquist, who replaced Carter, reduced the margin to 26-20 with a 24m penalty after a scrum penalty.
But man of the match Johnson put the game beyond the Crusaders’ reach in the 74th minute. He intercepted an inside pass from Kieran Read to Ryan Crotty and raced away to score.
Replacement back Steve Alfeld, lurking out on the right wing, fumbled the ball over the line as the Crusaders pressed for a late try.
The scorers:
For Cheetahs:
Tries: R Ebersohn, S Ebersohn, Johnson
Con: S Ebersohn 3
Pen: S Ebersohn 4
For Crusaders:
Tries: Guildford, Carter
Con: Carter 2
Pen: Carter 2
– The Press
Rugby Heaven
Whoooohoooo!! Manwhat a win!! I reckoned the disruptions and changes to the Crusaders team, could be an opportunity!! Ansd the Cheetahs took the opportunity in GRAAAAAND style!!!
What a team, What a win!! I am going to savour this one for a while yet!!
VRYSTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!
I have not enjoyed a match like this one in a long time. It was simply a magnificent performance from the Cheatahs where each and every player played their hearts out and never stood back, in fact held their own or even outshone, their star studded media hyped opposition – the McCaws, Reids, Franks, Freuens, SBWs, Whitelocks, Carters and others. In particular amongst many standout performances we had the Johnson/Floors/Raubenheimer loose trio – Brussouw off after only 15 mins – making their opposition look ordinary as well as the Cheatahs front row holding at bay the most formidable front row in the competition.
Make no mistake, this was a very, very good Saders team who never lost the game through bad play. They were simply outplayed by a better team on the day. The Cheatahs believed in themselves, believed they could do it, believed they were good enough and never waivered or lost focus or commitment right up till the last second where a desperate Saders were throwing everything at them to earn just a consolation bonus point for losing within 7. The Cheatahs said NO, even when they knew they had the match won by that stage. They didn’t just hold on, they pushed back and one felt that if the match had been longer they may have even managed to score the bonus point try! Congrats Cheatahs!
Now don’t tell me that didn’t feel good, that beating the greatest team in the history of the super comp, the 7 time champions, the team that whipped the Sharks, crushed the Bulls, beat the Stormers and will provide the core of the WC All Black team, wasn’t an awesome feeling and achievement. Much more satisfying than it would be beating an out of sorts Bulls or Sharks or Lions or Stormers team. This is the true standard all SA sides should be aspiring to. Not fighting old, stale, out of date historical and provincial rivalries kept alive by fans who are still stuck in their narrow, small little mental backwaters. This is what the world notices, this is what the world values and judges you by, if you can compete with the best in the world and not whether you occasionally knock over one of your bigger brothers in a local derby.
Long live this new mindset and let’s hope it takes root so that SA rugby and by extension the BOKS, can go on to their rightful place as the dominant rugby power on the planet. Viva Chitas, VIVA!!
Sitting at Jhb International and have some of the Saders players here. Feel they played poorly and the cheetahs played well. SBW walking around with some compression bandages on his leg but all the others look OK. Must say, face to face SBW is a big unit!
I just finished watching this match, recorded on the PVR, after I could not watch it live last night.
Great win for the Cheetahs, superb heart, guts and defence!
This in spite of the fact that the Crusaders had a plethera of possession and territorial advantage right throughout the match.
It just shows, in your face and committed defence, is how you play against the Crusaders… allow them no space to put them on the front foot and no space to allow them to release their dangermen.
This is what the Bokke should do as well against New Zealand… and for that matter the lesson the Bulls, Stormers, Sharks and Lions could take away from this.
Congrats Cheetahs, you pegged the Crusaders back a notch.
The Cheetahs did not just win, they restored all faith that we are right up there with whatever NZ can offer. The media hype in NZ are regrouping , in fact they are worrying, the plain sailing to the WC is not so plain anymore.
THANK YOU VRYSTAAAAAT
Todd Blackadder thought the Cheetahs grabbed a “fortunate” try – but the Crusaders coach acknowledged his own team failed to fire in the battle of Bloemfontein.
Naka Drotske’s Cheetahs won 33-20 after beating the Crusaders at their own game by exerting immense pressure at the breakdown and adjusting much better to the slick Vodacom Stadium turf.
Blackadder wanted a second look at Sias Ebersohn’s 55th minute try which put the Cheetahs in the box seat at 26-17 – but he thought it was “very fortunate”. He felt match officials may have missed a knock-on after fullback Riaan Viljoen applied heat to halfback Willi Heinz at a ruck in the home team’s half.
“I thought they knocked the ball forward out of Willi’s hands,” Blackadder said. “I don’t think Bryce [referee Bryce Lawrence] saw it, he was relying on his touchy [assistant referee].”
It mattered not a jot, anyway, because Cheetahs flanker Ashley Johnson later lapped a loose pass from Kieran Read to Ryan Crotty for the match-sealing try in the 74th minute.
In many ways, that lapse summed up an error-strewn effort by the Crusaders.
Blackadder conceded the Crusaders “weren’t clinical enough” and their execution left a lot to be desired as they struggled against the “outstanding line speed” of the Cheetahs’ defence.
Captain Richie McCaw said the Cheetahs put plenty of pressure on the Crusaders, who “struggled to get quick, clean ball”. He said it was frustrating because “when we did score, we showed if we got down the right end of the field and held the ball, the points would come”.
The Crusaders did score two cracker tries in the first spell, the first to left wing Zac Guildford, who scorched away in the 10th minute after Robbie Fruean stepped one defender and fended another.
Dan Carter celebrated his comeback after a six-week spell with a hamstring injury, with a neat feint to cap 11 phases of patient, controlled buildup, including an almost obligatory offload from Sonny Bill Williams to McCaw.
But the Crusaders led by one point at halftime, 17-16, and McCaw admitted later they never felt in control.
Blackadder felt the Crusaders’ defence was never consistently threatened by the Cheetahs, but he admired the way the South African side “make their own luck” with their ability to force errors.
Johnson led a doughty defensive effort by the Cheetahs with fellow flanker Kabamba Floors’ fluorescent hair prominent as he made tackle after tackle after replacing injured Springbok fetcher Heinrich Brussow. Hooker and skipper Adriaan Strauss and props WP Nel and Coenie Oosthuizen also made their presence felt.
Few teams keep the Crusaders tryless in the final 40 minutes but the Cheetahs achieved that while finding time to score two of their own.
Sias Ebersohn joined his brother on the scoresheet after Viljoen’s steal at the ruck. Halfback Sarel Pretorius quickly fed the omnipresent Johnson, who produced a pass straight out of the Sonny Bill textbook to send Ebersohn scampering down the left flank. The No10 left Read in his wake and uncorked a clever step to his right to wrongfoot Crusaders fullback Tom Marshall.
McCaw’s men kept hammering away but the Cheetahs’ try-line defence was as impermeable.
McCaw was the best of an out-muscled pack and Carter got a pass mark for his first game back but Blackadder was right to rate fullback Tom Marshall as player of the day. The young Tasman man hardly put a foot wrong in his first start at fullback and could do little to stop Sias Ebersohn’s slick finish.
But Blackadder will be demanding a “more Crusaders-like” effort against the Chiefs.
– The Press
Marginal calls are a reality, and all teams get the short end at times. The Cheetahs could also have one or two games they lost due to refs calls. A dubious yellow against Wilhelm Steenkamp swung momentum the Bulls way Replays show the ball coming off Steenkamps foot after the ball spilled from the ruck. Ref called hands in ruck, and sent the lock off. Granted it was after repeated ruck trangressions, but the straw that broke the camels back, was not valid. Against the Blues, it was also a ref call, that cost us a possible win. That’s life, and the nature of the game makes it likely that a error can cost a team points or swing momentum!!
@ superBul:
While it may sound like sour grapes from Todd Greyadder, IMO in every game I watched this weekend the officials were for the most part poor to say the least, with the ref’ in the Lions game really missing a good match.
Likewise the Cheetahs ref standing watching a prop put his hand on the ground and then gives the penalty the other way, and please don’t get me started on the number of blatant forward passes that were missed this weekend.
Anyway, well done to all of the winning teams.
Stormers blew it somewhat, and the Bulls fell asleep a bit in the second half. I thought the Cheetahs were outstanding as a team, and for once the Lions showed some pride and commitment, even thought the Brumbies were pathetic. Oh and for my part they can keep Josh Strauss as captain.
If the Crusaders’ head coach is Blackadder, is his assistant call Baldrick?
I will never forget the faces of both the Cheetahs and the Lions’ team when the final whistle in both games went. PRICELESS, especially the LIONS!!!!!
@ superBul:
Never really heard AC asking for a second look at a try that the Ref DID have a look at, and STILL disallowed it, where it should have been allowed, according to SANZAR’s panel of refs. C’mon Blackadder, take it on the chin.
Anyway… lets look at the FACTS!
1.) The Cheetahs region produce quality players year in and year out. Most become world stars (B.Dup, F.Steyn, J.Smith).
2.) They may not have the same financial backing or Stadium size as the Lions, but they still manage more wins and (probably) attract more fans to the stadium.
3.) If just a few results goes their way, they may as well end in the top half of the comp. Compare that to last year and the year before, we see that (as far as log positions go) the Cheetahs are steadily climbing&improving.
So WHY WHY WHY would you want to replace them with the Kings?
BTW, I did a little “research and accounting”
I took a look at 5 teams since 2006 (start of the super 14). Sanzar will not expand to a Super16 by 2013. The Kings have been promised a spot. That means ONE SA team will have to make way. Who should SARU pick?
Since Cats split (including 2011)
G W L D PD BP Pts. Pos.
Ctahs 77 21 54 2 -547 37 129 10.9
Lions 77 15 60 2 -997 30 98 14
Storm 76 40 34 2 174 34 202 5.3
G W PD Pts.
Landers 77 29 -310 160
Force 76 27 -258 143
Super 14/15 achievements
Bulls: 3 Finals. 1 semi-final
Sharks: 1 Final. 1 Semi-final
Storm: 1 Final.
Cheetahs and Lions: None.
Currie Cup Winners since 2006
Sharks: 2
CTahs: 1 & draw
Bulls: 1 & draw
I DONT know about you guys, but my logic tells me it should be the Lions that gets bounced. SA rugby has always swayed under public opinion. Nothing against the Lions, just everything for the Cheetahs. Im JUST SAYING.
Guts, determination and a will to win.
The Cheetahs showed all of that and hence they came away with a win. The Crusaders can make excuses of injuries etc. the fact is the Cheetahs have their share as well and not nearly as much depth as the Crusaders.
I thought Ashley Johnson should have recieved the Man of the match award as he was simply inspirational.
@ Greenpoint Gunner #13
You can even take it back further, and see that the Cheetahs have by far outperformed the Lions!! In fact apart from Super Rugby, which to be fair, the Cheetahs are only now begiining to find their feet, the Bulls, Sharks and Cheetahs have been the most dominant SA teams.
Cheetahs have played in 11 consecutive semi-finals (the only team toi have achieved this in the past decade.
Cuurie Cup finals stats since 2000:
Finals contested:
Bulls 7 winning 4 and sharing 1 with Cheetahs in 2006 a win ratio of 64.28%
Cheetahs 5 winning 2 and sharing 1 with Bulls in 2006 a win ratio of 35.71%
Lions 3 with no wins
Sharks 4 winning 2, a win ratio of 50%
WP 3 winning 2 a win ratio of 50%
Now stats can back up any point, the interesting thing is that both the WP finals, and trophies were way back in 2000/1
Thus I say that the Bulls, Sharks, Cheetahs, WP, and Lions are in that order in terms of CC rugby
Considering how long it took the Bulls to become a force in Super Rugby, the Cheetahs cannot complain.
In terms of Super Rugby in the last 10 years
It would be Bulls, Sharks, Stormers, Cheetahs and Lions as the most successful teams
Thus logically (a concept foreign to the powers that be) the Cheetahs are clearly the answer!!
@ Cheetah4eva:
Een ding wat ek nogal oor wonder , miskien is hier iemand wat dit aan my kan verduidelik.
Hoekom word die CATs se rekords by die Leeus se geskiedenis gevoeg maar nooit by die Cheetahs sn nie? Was hulle nie 50/50 venote in daai franchise nie?
@ Super
Ha ha, jy is dood reg, Ek dink dis omdat die Cheetahs eerder daai huwelik wil vergeet. Feit is die laaste 2 jaar of so was die cats meestal Cheetahs spelers! Die Leeu spelers het maar vir ons die lemoene aan gedra, omdat ons gedwing was om in daai gat in Gauteng moes jol!! Magtig man, dit demp skoon ‘n boerseun se lus om rugby te speel, as jy daar moet bly!!!
Ek is seker as die Cats uit die Rosesatd gespeel het, dan was die Cats baie beter af!!!
@ Cheetah4eva:
Kyk vir stats doeleindes kan mens net een span die games gee jy kan tog nie een speel en twee spanne die wen of verloor toedig nie, hoekom hulle nie die tyd as die Cats franchise notuleer nie weet ek nie. Miskien het die Leeus geweet wat kom toe try hulle so paar wenne op Hul boeke kry. Voor Saterdag was dit 25 gespeel 1 wen.
So enige wen in daai tyd is soos goud werd.
maarek sien nou die wenne was toe moer skaars, hoe lank was die venootskap aan die gang?
2005 =1 wen
2004 =1
2003 =2
2002 =1
2001 =7 + Semi
2000 =7 + Semi
from 1998 – 2005 the Cheetahs if I am not mistaken!
@ Cheetah4eva:
Haha, I thought you might leave a comment on that one. BTW, sorry if the logs I put up is a but confusing. Thought it could happen, but not much I can do about it.
Anyway, you are right, you can take it back to 2000. And no matter how you look at it, since then, the top 4 teams in SA (CC and Super) has been the Bulls-Cheetahs-Sharks-Stormers/WP (alphabetical order only).
But I wanted to avoid it since a LOT has changed since those days. Coaches, captains, teams… even jerseys.
@ superBul:
I often wonder about the same thing. But I think it could be because in 2006 the Lions kept the name “Cats” for a year. It could also because the financial and commercial headquarters were situated with the GLRU, more so than with the Cheetahs.
Man, Its really sad to see. I remember, as a highschool lightie, watching the Cats run out in the Mains era. Andre Vos, Andre Venter, AJ Venter in a row. I put it to you, in ALL the years of Super Rugby there has NOT been a lose trio of the same calibre. Not even among the Brumbies or Crusaders.
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