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Chiefs (6) 19 Sharks (6) 18
The boffins at the Sharks' marketing department decided to brand this a Valentine's Day affair. It was a Valentine's Day effort all right - a St Valentine's massacre of rugby's good name.
The sight of Sharks fans throwing missiles at Chiefs flyhalf Stephen Donald on two occasions - first when he converted the only try and the last-minute penalty that earned them a controversial one-point win - was a disgrace.
Referee Keith Brown, who awarded the Chiefs, last year's Super 14 finalists, 16 penalties to the Sharks' eight, started the rot with a display that suggested the magnitude of the game got the better of his judgment.
At times one got the impression that some nameless, faceless, secret-admirer type refereed the game from the touchline as the New Zealander missed regulation knock-ons, obstructions and cynical fouls.
He didn't help the suspicion by running around with his hand on his ear, appearing to be listening to instructions.
Watching both sides celebrate winning the game when the final hooter went - the Sharks because they'd kicked the ball out and the Chiefs because they spotted that the referee had given them a kickable penalty seconds before - suggested order was no longer part of the game.
Brown's decision-making, however controversial, gave the Chiefs a win that had looked unlikely throughout what was comfortably the worst game of the weekend due to persistent rain, lightning and thunder...........
http://www.timeslive.co.za/sport/rug...icle305874.ece
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