KEY POINTS:
Zero tolerance, the refs boomed after the opening round of Super 14. Rucking was still permitted within some stringent guidelines but there was no latitude for trampling or stamping - those actions were outlawed.
IRB referees manager Paddy O'Brien and his New Zealand counterpart Keith Lawrence warned players would be punished if they trampled opponents. Players taking cheap shots on opponents' knees, ankles and hands would be penalised.
Perhaps they forgot to copy the instruction to the citing commissioner based in Canberra for the Blues match against the Brumbies.
The visitors used a season's fortune to beat the Brumbies and continued to ride their luck as Justin Collins escaped any post-match censure.
He delivered one malicious stomp on an unprotected Brumbies ankle and although that behaviour used to be tolerated, it is now a no-go zone.
Television coverage showed the cheap shot, the commentators mentioned it and thought referee Jonathan Kaplan had spoken to Collins about his ill-discipline.
Not a peep from the citing commissioner about an incident which looked more cynical than Troy Flavell's footwork that sent him to the sinbin the week before.
Flavell might also have been fortunate in Canberra after he tipped up his lineout rival in midair but the Blues are riding their fortune at this stage of the new season.
It is not often the Aussies are so benevolent. But their three senior sides were all charitable at the weekend and only the novice Force managed to scrape a win against the inept Stormers.
The Brumbies allowed themselves to be Ealed, just as the All Blacks fell to a final penalty kick from the Wallaby captain in 2000 when the same referee, Kaplan, was in charge. The Waratahs lacked any attacking thread and the Reds huffed and puffed but could not blow the red and black house down.
Eddie Jones has made significant coaching inroads with the Reds. He has tailored game plans to suit the power of an improving pack and the restricted venom in the backs.
But the Crusaders soaked up the limited channels of attack and then unleashed the match-winning talents of Stephen Brett, yet another five-eighths ready to follow the prowess of Andrew Mehrtens and Daniel Carter.
It was tight and the champions were trailing inside the last 10 minutes but then turned up the heat.
The Chiefs possess all sorts of attacking threats but against the Hurricanes turned those armaments on themselves. They gifted the match with a series of shameful scoring gaffes, blunders which made their growing injury list even more painful.
That damage, twin failures and the long trip to South Africa make their next assignment against the lowly Stormers now look extra-tough.
The Crusaders have made the same trip to the republic but the defending champions will be in a much more confident mood after stitching one victory into their kitbag.
Their underpowered pack will be bashed about in South Africa so an opening win against the Lions is imperative before the tougher challenges from the Cheetahs and Sharks.
Rugby and quality were not comfortable companions at the weekend and certainly not at Ellis Park, where the Lions overcame the Highlanders in a dreary game.
The Highlanders have even less flair than the Reds and desperately need first five-eighths Nick Evans to recover for their meeting in Dunedin in a month.
