Crusaders centre Daniel Carter kicked a last minute penalty to hand his team a nailbiting 39-37 win over the Cats in a topsy-turvy Vodacom Super 12 rugby match played at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon.
The Cats staged one of the finest comebacks in Super 12 history, when, after trailing 36-6 just after the break, they scored 31 unanswered points in the closing 35 minutes to snatch the lead with an Andre Pretorius dropped-goal six minutes from the end.
The home team hung on grimly and led 37-36 with time fast running out as the Crusaders launched one final attack, only to see Australian referee Matt Goddard penalise them for offsides inside their 22 to effectively hand the visitors an undeserved victory.
In the end though a sloppy first stanza cost the Cats a second successive Super 12 win following the narrow victory over the Chiefs last weekend.
The opening exchanges were scrappy from both sides, but it was the visitors who piled on the pressure early. The home team had to defend as if their lives depended on it, denying the Canterbury side countless times in the first five minutes.
The Cats though only managed to hold firm until fullback Scott Hamilton inevitably crossed in the ninth minute after several phases of relentless pressure for the visitors first try of the afternoon.
That bottom-placed team though fought back from the kick-off and, after stringing several phases together, were awarded a penalty.
Flyhalf Nel Fourie made no mistake from 30m out to narrow the gap. Although The Cats threatened on occasion in the opening 40 minutes, with No 8 Pietie Ferreira and Springbok wing Ashwin Willemse making some telling runs, the Crusaders were well on top.
The visitors, despite being a little off their game themselves, had enough in the tank to brush aside the timid Cats effort in the first half.
They dominated the tight phases and with a host of gifted runners in their backline, the Cats simply had no answer.
Even though it looked as if the Crusaders never got out of second gear, they ran in three further tries to clinch the bonus point before the break.
First it was centre Daniel Carter, who barged over in the 25th minute, before veteran right wing Marika Vunibaka chipped and chased to make the Cats defence look silly two minutes later.
Flyhalf Cameron McIntyre rounded off the first half rout on 35 minutes when he scampered over under the sticks to make the score 29-6 at the break.
And they went further ahead shortly after the restart when Carter grabbed his second — and his team’s fifth — to stretch the lead to 30 points and the Cats looked dead and buried with a little more than 35 minutes to play.
In the next ten minutes, however, the match swung on its head as the home team produced some magic rugby to stun the former champions with three converted tries in seven minutes. The pick of that bunch was undoubedtly prop Gurthro Steenkamp’s effort — the third of the lot — after a scintillating break by scrumhalf Enrico Januarie.
Once the dust had settled, the Cats had suddenly hauled themselves back into contention at 36-27 with 26 minutes still on the clock.
The Crusaders were completely shell-shocked and, like the Cats, rang the changes, bringing on some fresh legs. It made no difference though as the Cats had got a sniff of the cream and went in search of the bonus point try.
And, after repelling wave after wave of Crusaders attacks, the rejuvenated home team scored their fourth try when lock Boela du Plooy crashed over after brilliant work from centre Jacque Fourie.
When Pretorius added the extras the Cats were just two points in arrears and his dropped-goal with six minutes left nearly gave the Cats the unlikeliest of victories, before Carter’s late penalty snatched the win for the visitors.
Point-scorers: CATS 37 (6): Tries: CJ van der Linde, Juan Smith, Gurthro Steenkamp, Boela du Plooy. Conversions: Nel Fourie (1), Andre Pretorius (3). Penalties: Fourie (2). Drop- goals: Pretorius (1).
CRUSADERS 36 (29): Tries: Scott Hamilton, Daniel Carter (2), Marika Vunibaka, Cameron McIntyre. Conversions: Carter (4). Penalties: Carter (1).