Close calls

Well the were some exciting games this weekend.

The Hurricanes had their second opportunity in two weeks to snatch victory in the dying moments, but this time, against the Blues they needed a try and just couldn't pull it out the hat.

The Crusaders were also six points up approaching, and at, the 80 minute mark, but the Stormers hung onto the ball, maintaining possession. The Crusaders threw everything into defense, including some naughty business that earned Maxwell a yellow card two and a half minutes after the game 'should' have been over. Nervous moments there, but the crew managed to defy their grey jersey odds and hold off one of the form teams in the competition.

The Sharks Brumbies match was also close for most of the game, as the second half ticked by, one just got the feeling that if either side could make a break through, they could run away with it. After a few matches where they scored three, the bonus try, scored by Alberts, was a just reward.

Speaking of Alberts, he had an absolute blinder. A demon in defense, he was literally throwing himself into tackles - kinda reminded me of the human javelin himself Mr Norm Maxwell ... Except better discplined.

Now that I think about it, I actually made a few personal, rather than personnel, observations this weekend.

1. Digby Ioane's ninja head /face gear. Yes, it was every bit as bizarre as we were lead to believe it would be, but did he actually play in it? He wore it when he ran onto the field, and then I never saw it again. Granted, it looked slightly more intrusive than the one famously worn by Detroit Pistons Gaurd Richard Hamilton, but surely someone would have thought about that before hand?

2. Could the third Faingaa brother look anymore like the twins? I mean seriously.

3. I know we should all be used to it by now, but what is Matt Giteau's hairdresser thinking? And is he / she on acid? The GI Jonah faux mullet is a big call even from a man with a reputation for wacky do's. Three cheers for head gear.

4. I know this was hardly his fault, but I had to feel for Brumbies prop Ben Alexander just before kick off. Usually the player bios which pop up on screen when the player takes the field says something like, 34th super cap, or, debuted against the Warratahs in 2005. But no, not Ben Alexander. He's "conceded 15 penalties this season", and that's before the game has even begun.

5. Andries Bekker definitely had his angry man face on ... Abusing the ref, Zac Guilford, and his own hooker after a couple of dodgy lineouts.

Which brings me back on track.

Lineouts were a bit shaky across the board this weekend.
The Blues stuffed up their first four throws, Zac Guilford needs to learn to stop and think before automatically taking a quick throw, and yes they still have to be straight ... Which leads to one of the most bizarre call line out calls I've ever heard ... pisang. Now I'm not sure what planet Andries Bekker is from, seriously, but here on earth, a banana (English tranlastion) is by definition crooked .... Not exactly what you want from the hooker.

The other couple of bizarre comments come from the Rebels v Reds match.

Phil Kearns, the Rebels fans (dubbed by Kaf as the noisiest in Australia) are NOT "becoming more and more educated", the reason we "shout the right things at the right times" is because we KNOW THE BLOODY RULES.

And yes, the Rebels missed Cipriani's boot, but I don't understand how commentators across the board could sit there with a straight face and say that the Rebels will miss his attacking capabilities when they are the team that's scored the least number of tries this season. And who was directing traffic then?

That's about all from me this week, except to give a massive shout out to the Crusaders replacements.

Starting without many front line players, the Cantabrians then had to deal with losing four backs to injury in the first 30 minutes. The numerous resulting reshuffles, which even saw flanker Matt Todd move to the centers, obviously interrupted their flow, but the team stuck irony and stuck at it. Champion.