Jubilation and despair--the literal peaks and valleys of human emotion--were on display in the Hurricanes 50-47 SupeRugby victory over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, South Africa last Saturday.
And it took just 90 seconds.
Cheetah's scrum half Sarel Pretorious, who played a monster of a game, ventured far into Hurricane territory with less than two minutes left. Without many team mates around him, Pretorious flailed the ball away in a desperate attempt to keep possesion and run out the game clock.
However, Pretorius' pass fell plainly in the hands of the desperate Hurricanes, who quickly turned it into a fast-break going the other way. Lock Jeremy Thrush looked Gayle Sayers-like as he outran the exhuasted Cheetahs to the Try Line at the buzzer, sealing the victory for the New Zealand side.
Watch the action here:
What makes Rugby such a great game is the ability of teams to seize victory from the jaws of defeat in the dying moments. I struggle to find parallels to sports most Americans know, but it is the NFL equivalent of a pick-six to end the game--or since the Cheetahs were trying to protect their lead, it's more apt to say the Cheetahs lost the way the New York Giants did in the Joe Pisarcik caper in 1976.
Both the Hurricanes and the Cheetahs are near the bottom of the SupeRugby table, which made the game really the Finals or the Super Bowl of SupeRugby. Both teams were desperate for a victory. For Cheetahs fans, though, the game was like having your heart ripped out of your chest and fed to you on a silver platter.
Additionally, any game between teams from South Africa and New Zealand are de-facto Springboks vs. All Blacks contests. Both are arguably each others' biggest rivals--and each player knows that club and country are on the line when they play.
Such is the heartbreak and ecstasy of the great game of rugby.
And it took just 90 seconds.
Cheetah's scrum half Sarel Pretorious, who played a monster of a game, ventured far into Hurricane territory with less than two minutes left. Without many team mates around him, Pretorious flailed the ball away in a desperate attempt to keep possesion and run out the game clock.
However, Pretorius' pass fell plainly in the hands of the desperate Hurricanes, who quickly turned it into a fast-break going the other way. Lock Jeremy Thrush looked Gayle Sayers-like as he outran the exhuasted Cheetahs to the Try Line at the buzzer, sealing the victory for the New Zealand side.
Watch the action here:
What makes Rugby such a great game is the ability of teams to seize victory from the jaws of defeat in the dying moments. I struggle to find parallels to sports most Americans know, but it is the NFL equivalent of a pick-six to end the game--or since the Cheetahs were trying to protect their lead, it's more apt to say the Cheetahs lost the way the New York Giants did in the Joe Pisarcik caper in 1976.
Both the Hurricanes and the Cheetahs are near the bottom of the SupeRugby table, which made the game really the Finals or the Super Bowl of SupeRugby. Both teams were desperate for a victory. For Cheetahs fans, though, the game was like having your heart ripped out of your chest and fed to you on a silver platter.
Additionally, any game between teams from South Africa and New Zealand are de-facto Springboks vs. All Blacks contests. Both are arguably each others' biggest rivals--and each player knows that club and country are on the line when they play.
Such is the heartbreak and ecstasy of the great game of rugby.
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