4. Pick a Card, Any Card
The Crusaders went to Durban to play the Sharks in what might have been anticipated as a close game, it wasn’t. It all started to unfold with the Crusaders up 3-28 with less than five minutes to go in the second half.
In what must be something of a record, four cards were awarded in five minutes. The Cantabrians collected three yellow cards in quick succession, prop Nepo Laulala for a shoulder charge in the 37th minute, centre Kieron Fonotia for a shoulder charge in the 39th minute and finally winger Nemani Nadolo was given a yellow for kicking away the ball after a penalty had been blown. Just to make sure they didn’t miss out on the fun, Sharks loose forward John Deysel collected a red card for a knee to the head in the 40th minute.
This resulted in a match of twelve Crusaders vs 14 Sharks for roughly ten minutes, then 15 Crusaders vs 14 Sharks for the final half an hour.
In case you were wondering the Crusaders ended up piling on the points finishing 10-52 winners. But the score line won’t be how this game will be remembered.
Here’s a highlights package, I’ve skipped to where the cards come out:
