8: BULLs WiN BY CONveNieNt mARGiN

Coming into the final weekend of the 2007 competition, it appeared that the Sharks and Crusaders were almost certain of finishing one and two and that the Blues and Bulls would sneak into third and fourth.

But, strangely, the Crusaders lost at home to the Chiefs. But still, they had a massive points differential advantage over the Blues and Bulls to make it unlikely they would slip out of the top two.

The Blues beat the Force to ensure they made the last four but didn’t overtake the Crusaders and the Bulls needed to win against the Reds by a 70-point margin to get a home semi-final.

It was surely never going to happen? But the Reds capitulated. They looked like they gave up early and actually stopped trying.

It was bad. A professional team that didn’t care and were so weak that the Bulls were able to win 92-3 and finish second.

It seemed a little suspicious that the Reds threw the towel in as quickly as they did to change the whole dynamic of the competition as suddenly there were two semifinals in South Africa.

“I think we knew the Bulls would win, but by that score? Heavens above!” was former All Blacks playmaker Grant Fox’s reaction to the result.