The Bulls have upped the ante by accusing the Crusaders of illegal scrummaging ahead of their Super 14 rugby semi-final in South Africa on Saturday (Sunday 1.05am AEST).
The teams meet in Soweto on the outskirts of Johannesburg and Bulls captain Victor Matfield wants Australian referee Stuart Dickinson to police the scrum particularly closely.
The Bulls believe the Crusaders gain an unfair advantage in the set piece by using questionable tactics.
Their concerns, raised so close to the semi-final, might be viewed as a smokescreen, but Matfield is adamant that Dickinson has to be decisive in that area.
“They’re a great scrummaging unit, but we’ve observed that they target the tighthead side of the scrum through illegal means,” Matfield told South African rugby website keo.co.za.
Matfield acknowledged the Crusaders had one of the strongest scrums in the tournament, but felt that in the Bulls’ match against the New Zealanders a fortnight ago, as well as in the Crusaders’ game against the Brumbies last weekend, that they had gained the upper hand illegally.
“We’ll ask the referee to watch out for that. It’s a small thing but could make a big difference in a semi-final.
“I’m sure Richie (Crusaders captain) McCaw will raise some points of concern. It’s not a witch hunt, we just want to make sure the playing fields are level.”
Matfield, a lineout maestro and Springboks hardman, said his forwards would have to brace themselves in other areas where he felt the Crusaders excelled in their previous meeting on May 8 at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria when the Bulls escaped with a 40-35 win thanks to contentious late try.
He praised the Crusaders’ lineout and maul defence, noting that they had disrupted usually solid facets of the Bulls’ game at Loftus Versfeld.
“They stole a number of our balls the last time we played and we’ll have to improve there,” Matfield said.
“Furthermore, they are the one team we struggled to get our rolling maul going against. It’s been a big weapon for us, so we’ll have to find ways of circumventing their strength in defending it.”
Matfield also defended the Bulls’ decision to rest the vast bulk of their top starting 15 in their last round robin match, a 38-10 loss to the Stormers last weekend.
He said the fruits of that decision were evident in training this week.
“I’ve seldom seen individuals in the squad as focused and intense as I have in our sessions this week,” he said.
“The guys are physically and mentally fresh and I feel that is a direct result of them having had a week off.
“I know there have been questions about how the break would affect our momentum, but we don’t share those concerns.
“We’ve prepared well and we’ll be up for the massive challenge.”
Jerry
Guest
Steve Walsh was ok for his first 2 or 3 years but he's been guilty of pre-judging teams for most of his career. He goes out and concentrates on specific areas of the game for each team, but they're not consistent. He'll watch the Canes at the tackle but will miss the other team doing the same thing for example. And Honiss could be ok, but was prone to some spectacular howlers like giving 4 penalty tries in one match or the SA/Ireland debacle.
Peter K
Guest
Well at least they get a chance to live in a developed country and out of the 3rd world :)
Peter K
Guest
I thought Honiss was really good. So was Steve Walsh until his drinking affected his game. I know what you mean re managing the players BUT sometimes players refuse to adjust, the ref is explicit re a facet and the players willfully continue to offend. Basically challenging the ref to continue to penalise.
Taniwha
Guest
I know this question has probably been asked many times before, bt does anyone know of reliable site to watch games streaming live?
Jerry
Guest
He doesn't HAVE to do anything. But actions have consequences and saying what he said without clarifying makes him look like a twat. But then his stupid designer stubble accomplished that ages ago.
Lee
Guest
Why does he have to justify anything in response to a journalists question?
ohtani's jacket
Guest
Classic.
johno
Guest
Doesn't seem as if you know what's going on either. As for cleaning it up, any suggestions?
johno
Guest
I see the Saders are up to that old most noble of New Zealand pursuits again, poaching players from other countries. http://www.supersport.com/rugby/sa-rugby/news/100521/Crusaders_plan_to_poach_SA_players That argument about Islanders being economic refugees makes a lot of sense now.
Jerry
Guest
I've never been a fan of Dickenson. Other than Lyndon Bray, I can't recall any good NZ refs retiring. Our refs have been a bit ordinary for the last few years. SA's had the good SANZAR refs for the last 3 or 4 years but that's mostly Lawrence and Joubert. Kaplan can be good, but can also be inconsistent. Dickenson's like Wayne Barnes in that both are technically competent refs (who have both had some prominent howlers none the less) who have absolutely no ability to engage with the players and manage a game. It's no use saying "It's up to the players to adapt". Good refs mangage the players. They're not good refs.
Peter K
Guest
Jerry - Previous years I rated NZ refs the best in SANZAR and the Aust ones the worst. But all the best senior NZ refs have retired. I was never a fan of Dickinson BUT this year he has really improved, and has reffed as requested with the interpretations.
Jerry
Guest
You're not gonna find me on any forums trying to claim our refs are any good Peter. But at least I can admit when they're crap.
Peter K
Guest
Jerry the NZ refs were so BAD that not one was rated in the top 3, correctly in my opinion. Bryce Lawrence was terrible, Pollock inconsistent, your best was Keith Brown but he didnt seem to get many games, not sure if he was injured midway or something.
Peter K
Guest
Steve Walsh is rated australias next highest
Jerry
Guest
He's not bringing up a concern though - he's just making a general insinuation.
Jerry
Guest
Australia's best ref? WOW, did he have to beat such luminaries as Matt Goddard and George Ayoub for that?
Bay35Pablo
Roar Guru
Typical saafie brinkmanship. Suggests the Bulls are a bit nervous. And what is he talking about? Unless he gets specific, this is all bull. Front up and give detail Victor, or be quiet. general allegations of "illegal play" desrve no attention without details.
Go_the_Wannabe's
Guest
I too would like to know what Matfield means by targetting the tight head. Doesn't this lessen the pressure on the loose head and perhaps cause the scrum to rotate.......maybe even resulting in a loss of feed? Sounds like BS mind games alright.
ohtani's jacket
Guest
Um, the game hasn't been played yet so he hasn't been blamed for anything.
ohtani's jacket
Guest
We're all aware that Dickinson's your boy. Matfield knows what we all know about Dickinson and is trying to get some calls.