Bulls captain Victor Matfield has praised the South African touch judge Jaco Peyper who reccomended that Match Referee Marius Jonker award the match winning try in the Bulls match against the Crusaders.
The Bulls maintained their unbeaten record at 'fortress' Loftus thanks to a try being awarded in extra time after initially being ruled out.
The Bulls will play no further matches at Loftus Versfeld as the May 22 semi-final will mark the first time a South African rugby union franchise plays in the famous black township of Soweto as Loftus is unavailable due to 2010 FIFA World Cup preparations.
Bulls lock and captain Victor Matfield praised the South African touch judge Jaco Peyper who cleared the Hougaard try: "Replays proved it was the correct decision and the touch judge made a great call."
He also showered praise on the Richie McCaw-led visitors: "They are a great championship side who caught us out a few times."
"Crusaders are the best side this competition has seen," added Matfield.
McCaw could not mask his disappointment as this loss followed a 28-point hiding from second-placed Stormers in Cape Town last weekend, but boasted that he was "proud of his boys".
"There were two teams out there who wanted to play great rugby, but we did not have much luck."
"Our running game was deliberate having practiced that style building up to the game."
