KEY POINTS:
Odwa Ndungane atoned for a glaring lapse and Ruan Pienaar calmly slotted a sideline conversion two minutes after the siren to give the unbeaten Sharks a last gasp 27-26 Super 14 rugby victory over the Crusaders in Durban today.
The defending champions seemed to have closed down the match, leading 26-20 when the hooter sounded at ABSA Stadium. But instead of taking the safe option and kicking the ball dead when deep in Sharks territory, they tried to run in an inconsequential third try only to surrender a costly turn over.
Adrian Jacobs launched one last desperate counter attack when Rico Gear lost the ball in contact, bursting out of the 22m zone before freeing Ndungane who kept Scott Hamilton at bay for 60m before diving over in left hand corner.
The contest ended in high drama as television match official Shaun Veldsman viewed several replays before confirming Ndungane squeezed in to give Pienaar an unenviable assignment.
But despite the intense pressure the Sharks second choice kicker raised the flags to leave the exhausted Crusaders to reflect on how they had butchered a chance to bank four valuable points before having next weekend off.
Instead the six-time title holders have a two-win, three-loss record -- taking seven points from a possible 15 on offer from their road trip to leave them in seventh.
The Sharks, coming off the bye, trail the competition-leading Blues by two points on 16, with a game in hand. Their victory capped a remarkable round for the South African franchises after the Lions, Stormers and Bulls all won on the road in Australasia.
Hooker Corey Flynn encapsulated the Crusaders' disbelief at fulltime.
"At 26-20 I thought 'This is our game', we played for 80 minutes, it's a pity it went for 82.
" We always knew if they got a breakaway they were dangerous.
"We love to doing it to teams, we know how hard it is to defend. They did it to us, and they did it brilliantly."
Counterpart John Smit, sidelined with cramp in the dying minutes, admitted his side had got out of jail.
"You need a bit of luck and we had a fairytale in the last three minutes. I don't think we deserved it but we stuck in to the end."
The Crusaders looked to have orchestrated a typically clinical finish when man of the match Stephen Brett broke a 20-20 deadlock with he added a 74th minute dropped goal to a penalty four minutes earlier after Butch James was pinged for a high tackle on Caleb Ralph.
However, the Crusaders renowned composure deserted them as they twice spurned opportunities to kill the game before Ndungane and Pienaar combined to send the crowd delirious.
Crusaders coach Robbie Deans admitted it was a devastating way for his largely inexperienced side to finish their three-week tour.
"The guys played their hearts out but they didn't get the return -- that's the way it goes, that's sport," he said.
"It was close to being a bloody good effort out of Africa . It's a bit of pain to finish on."
The Crusader never relinquished the lead until Ndungane's dash, though they were fortunate in the 54th minute when the wing botched a certain try when he dropped a slippery ball over the line with the scores level at 13 apiece.
His fumble looked even more costly three minutes later when No 8 Mose Tuiali'i strolled over unopposed from 25m after the Crusaders snatched a defensive lineout.
The try came from a rare second half foray into Sharks territory and soon the Crusaders were back on defence, holding out a couple of close range surges before replacement prop Bismarck du Plessis burrowed over in the 62nd minute.
Percy Montgomery added the extras before retiring with a quad muscle strain, one of several casualties as the 34degC heat and oppressive humidity took its toll.
The Crusaders had led 13-6 at halftime thanks to a breakout try sparked by Hamilton after an aimless James kick.
The fullback beat three tacklers before passing to a retreating Kieran Read who changed direction and loped between the posts to give the Crusaders a 13-3 buffer.
Montgomery kicked a handy penalty to narrow the gasp and then converted lock Albert van den Berg's 48th minute try -- the product of another forward barge from short range to lock the scores.
SCORING
Sharks 27 (Albert van den Berg, Bismarck du Plessis, Odwa Ndungane tries; Percy Montgomery 2 pen 2 con, Ruan Pienaar con)
Crusaders 26 (Kieran Read, Mose Tuiali'i tries; Stephen Brett 3 pen 2 con dropped goal). Halftime Crusaders 13-6.
- NZPA
