Lions defeat Hurricanes in entertaining Super Rugby semi-final, will play Crusaders in final

Thanks DC. Better luck next year mate. Outcome would be different in Welly I reckon. Importance of home games on display right there. In any case, Lions played well enough to win. Great to see them do well after decade(s) of struggle

Yes I'm more inclined to first look at the best ref. If it's a split decision then go to a neutral one (if there is one).

Jacko, agree with you wholeheartedly about using neutral refs as it avoids this kind of to and fro discussion about the individual decisions. The try before half was fine and the one after half looked fine from one of the angles I saw on replay, however you are correct it should have gone for review. The assistant ref was the one who was adamant that it was a try so Peyper accepted that. The question asked about the knock on was is there clear and compelling evidence that there was a knock on. Basically if it was clear then the TMO was cheating, however the Lions were under penalty advantage at the time. As for Barrett's yellow card. At the time I thought it was a bit harsh, but when I saw it replayed on a Kiwi news site I want to say well done Peyper, you spotted something deliberate that was so subtle, it even had the SA commentators crying it was too harsh. I a nutshell, the Canes dominated the 1st 30 mins and looked like they were going to runaway with it. Even though they butchered a couple of scoring opportunities the halftime score was a fair reflection of the game as two of the tries they did score were gifts against the run of play. What you gain on the merry go round, you lose on the swing! After that the Canes hit the wall - the pace they played at in the 1st 30 mins compounded by altitude and their night was over!

i dont buy the Ignorance either...They KNOW exactly what they are doing

Yes Supurba the SA ref MADE the Canes players eat Gobstoppers instead of checking the replays...And we all know how he could afford to buy the gobstoppers dont we!!!! I wonder how many RAND you get for a English pound these days...

Of course Suzy...the NZ side has only ever been successful for the past 100+ years because they have been offside all that time in every game ever.....

Fionn, No all of the losses suffered by Kiwis are as a result of the opposition playing better. I am expecting more losses for Kiwi teams and the AB's in the future. This is because I have seen that Kiwi teams play to the edge of the laws. And sometimes overstep that mark. In past they got away with this, and only got pinged for 10% of these incidents. Lately there has been clamp down from the referrees. It's not a conspiracy theory. I am observing the Kiwis who were breaking the rules got away away with more. That is no longer the case. I expect more losses, closer games and ref decisions to go against the Kiwis.

Incredible how on many sites, including this one, the comments focus on the unfair yellow card and the non-referral of some Lions' tries. I haven't bothered dissecting all of them, but in the Marx try the slow motion replays show that the ball was on or even slightly over the line before it was pushed back by the players on the ground. On the yellow card, the question of intent is irrelevant, the Lions were clearly on the attack with momentum on their side and a good chance of scoring when Barret raked the ball back with his feet. He was even looking at the ball while doing it, surely he could have tried to avoid it? In any case, I want to mention the issue of the Ardie Savea try which to me looked like it should have been a penalty to the Lions instead. The player that slapped the ball out of Ross Cronjé's hands was standing in an offside position, he wasn't bound to the ruck and didn't come from behind the last feet. He was clearly on the side of the ruck, almost on the Lions' side. Maybe I don't know my rules well enough, but I would like to know what others think about that one.

I m in full agreement with you tman, why SANZAAR don't get their house in order is simply mind boggling. Surely they must know people will question these anomolies? Same with the format as well, I am beginning to think these guys are either completely no care, or completely ignorant. I don't buy the ignorance, which only suggests they don't care about public opinion

Hi dcnz, I think the card was 50/50, Naas botha and Nick Mallett thought it was harsh. I think Jaco Peyper reacted in the heat of the moment. Be that as it may I think the Lions were full value for their win, it has been a while since I have seen a South African team come from behind and outscore their opponents in tries. It shows how far Ackermann has brought these boys. I am forever hopefull that this culture can become the mantra for South African rugby. Without it we will never compete against New Zealand. I suspect it hurts when your Canes lose such a match, but rest assured they are highly regarded in South Africa, hence it was such an achievement for the Lions. You had the feeling in the first quarter that they struggled to adjust to the pace, intensity and reaction time of the Canes. Two quick fire tries off unforced errors confirmed what evryone knew, mistakes will cost you dearly. To readjust their mindset, remain calm under pressure and to stage a comeback means we can compete, now it is vital the rest of South African rugby fall in line.

Ackers put a lot of faith in the whole playing group, sometimes the faith doesn't paying off, most of the time it does. He did not get the team to where they are by doing what every other coach would do. Players make mistakes and so do coaches.

DCNZ, not only the props... Brad Shields had his hands on hips sucking in the big ones after about 45 mins. The effects of playing in thin air should not be underestimated.

Brilliant comment, Dcnz. You are Diggercane should be the poster boys for gracious losers on this site. Commiserations about the loss, I really thought you guys were going to do it before the match started!

Canes fan here. No complaints about the ref. Tries looked fair to me. My Canes ran out of legs in the second half I remember in the 35 min a close shot of one of our props showed he was gasping for air. Then Beaudy was rightly carded ... Game over ...

I don't buy into all that either Biltong but to avoid all the fuss SANZAR are surely asking for trouble when they appoint neutral refs to the NZ based semi and all SA refs to a home based SA match vs a NZ side. I mean with only two matches instead of the usual seven during any weekend and two countries out surely there are enough unemployed Super level referees to simply appoint neutrally. It's almost as though they're deliberately provoking the proverbial bear. With the already high levels of the dislike of the conference system and the risk to the continuation of Super rugby wouldn't you think they'd at least try to salvage some sense of basic level intelligence in appointing a neutral ref, if even just to acknowledge the pereception of unfairness even if they don't buy into themselves. I mean how hard is it?

I thought the officiating was fine. The unchecked try was clear on replay, but the later one contained at least one fairly obvious knock-on, possibly 3. The lack of angles for the replay was curious. Barrett's card was deserved. Peyper was clear that it was a linebreak and Barrett stopped the momentum, accidentally or otherwise.

Jacko totally agree. Absolute farce.

History says no, but the Crusaders do have a good record in the republic generally compared to a lot of other teams. I think they were falling apart by the finals last year. in the three weeks prior, a loss against the Chiefs, nothing game against the Rebels, followed by the worst game they played all year, against the Canes, which they desperately wanted and needed to win. This team is in much better form and I think a more balanced all round team.

He has form in getting yellow cards in the red zone .

Richard They were up 22-3 . Then they choked . Just choked . Simple as.