Blues skipper Jerome Kaino could not hide his bitter disappointment after a contentious – some might say diabolical – ruling cost him a victory over the Cheetahs in his 100th match for the franchise in Bloemfontein.
It was a game the stoic All Black loose forward keenly wanted to win, not just to mark his century in style but to get his struggling team off the schneid after back-to-back defeats to open the Super Rugby season. He played his heart out for another 80 minutes, and could scarcely believe the turn of events that saw his luckless team pipped at the post, 25-24.
Minutes from the end it seemed the Blues had done enough, leading 24-22 and needing to repel a Cheetahs attack via a lineout on their 22. Calm minds and razor-sharp tactics were needed.
The Blues went to the well one more time – perhaps one time too many – with the much-discussed tactic of not contesting the ubiquitous lineout drive. John Kirwan and his coaching team have put a lot of work into this variation and used it to great effect a week earlier against the Stormers.
But this time Australian referee Rohan Hoffman ruled the Blues had infringed by stepping away from the lineout, and Joe Pietersen coolly stepped up to slot the match-winning penalty. Kaino, an unflappable customer, was inwardly seething afterwards.
"That penalty cost us the game," he said. "From my understanding we opened the gate, they drove through, and [the referee] said we were stepping back. But the person he said was stepping back was our halfback. I was a bit confused as to the interpretation. But the ref ruled on it and we can't argue that."
Kirwan was similarly perplexed, as he was by a couple of potential missed penalties in the final phases when the Blues worked into Cheetahs territory, only for an Ihaia West dropped goal attempt after the final hooter to drift wide.
"We know the ruling, we've been practising it. We did exactly the same last week and picked up three penalties. The boys are a little bewildered by it, but we have to accept the referee saw something different and move on."
The Blues are in a massive hole, with two bonus points from three matches. They have a lot of ground to regain if Kirwan is to make the play-off run he may need to retain his job. "Nothing is going our way, but I believe we can turn it round," he said. "This has been hard to cop, but the team's strong, we're going well, we're training well, now we just need to turn those into victories."
For much of the day, the Blues looked on the way to a much-needed victory. Luke Braid and Charlie Faumuina crossed for well-worked first-half tries to answer a brace from Boks wing Cornal Hendricks, and earn a 14-12 half-time lead. All Black Pat Tuipulotu was in barnstorming form.
When Kaino finished a surging move midway through the second spell, following Sarel Pretorius' sizzling solo effort, the visitors looked on the way. Then the fates conspired horribly.
Even late, there could have been a high tackle, and maybe a ruck infringement. Hoffman's whistle stayed silent.
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