The Crusaders adapted best to the conditions to beat the Chiefs 26-19 in a tense Super 14 rugby clash here Friday.
With the wind behind them and a dry ground, the Crusaders ensured the game was played at a frenetic pace in the first half and turned with a 23-16 lead as they outscored the Chiefs two tries to one.
But when the rain came down at halftime, and the Crusaders faced the wind, they switched to a dogged pick-and-drive style as they slugged out the final 40 minutes in which the only rewards were a penalty apiece.
The Waratahs ran in 11 tries to thrash the Lions 73-12 at the Sydney Football Stadium on Friday.
The hosts fired on all cylinders as they outclassed a sorry-looking Lions side who have now lost five in a row. Drew Mitchell scored four tries, Lachie Turner and Josh Holmes both got braces while Wycliff Palu, Dean Mumm and Tom Carter also got in on the act.
The Brumbies managed to scrape past the Sharks for a narrow win in Canberra on Saturday.
For the second time in the week there was heartbreak for the Sharks as they fought all the way to death when a Matt Giteau penalty snatched back the lead to hand the home side victory.
The Lions suffered their second successive defeat in Australasia when they went down 24-13 to the Brumbies in Canberra on Friday.
The wet conditions made for a forwards battle which the Brumbies’ all-Wallaby pack dominated. The Lions had very little possession to speak of and never really troubled the Brumbies on the scoreboard.
Flyhalf Daniel Carter won a goalkicking duel with former teammate Stephen Brett to lead the Crusaders to a 33-20 win over the Blues in Super 14 rugby Saturday.
Carter kicked seven goals from seven attempts - three conversions and four penalties - for 18 points to steer the seven-time champions to their third win in four matches.
Brett, in his first match for Auckland against his former team, kicked four penalties and a dropped goal for 15 points. Canterbury scored tries through flanker George Whitelock plus centres Ryan Crotty and Robbie Fruean, while Auckland had a late try by halfback Alby Mathewson.
Referee Paul Marks denied the Sharks a penalty try at the death to gift the Waratahs a four point win in controversial circumstances in Sydney on Saturday. Read the rest of this entry »
The Vodacom Bulls continued their impressive title defence in the Vodacom Super 14 following their 48-38 victory over the Waratahs at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
The victory by the Pretoria outfit was the only successful South African result after the Vodacom Cheetahs (24-31), Vodacom Stormers (19-17), the Auto & General Lions (33-18) and the Sharks (35-6) all conceded defeats this weekend.
Vodacom Bulls winger Francois Hougaard scored a brace of tries while Stephan Dippenaar, Gerhard van den Heever, Wynand Olivier and Jacques-Louis Potgieter all added five-pointers for the hosts.
The Waratahs though secured a bonus point for losing within seven of the Pretoria side. The defeat ensured that the Sydney franchise ended round three in eleventh position, while the Vodacom Bulls continued their dominance at the top of the log.
In Bloemfontein the Highlanders continued their undefeated run over the hosts in Bloemfontein on Saturday. The Otago side has now also won their last five games against the Vodacom Cheetahs, whose only win against the Highlanders was in Invercargill back in 1997 when the tourists outclassed the hosts to triumph 49-18.
The Auto & General Lions are still in search of their first victory in the 2010 Vodacom Super 14 following their 33-18 defeat to the Hurricanes in Wellington. The hosts secured their third win of the competition and are currently in second position on the log after round three.
Defending champions the Bulls proved too strong at Loftus Versfeld on the weekend in their Super 14 match as they notched up their second half century in two weeks, beating the Brumbies 50-32 in an entertaining match.
Flyhalf Morne Steyn scored two tries and kicked five conversions and five penalties as the home side picked up their second consecutive win in this year’s competition, with Steyn scoring 35 points in total.
Close to a thousand of mourners came to pay their last respects to Australian Sevens and Brumbies player Shawn Mackay at the Mary Immaculate Church in Waverley in Sydney on Wednesday.
Brumbies and former NSW Waratahs forward Mackay died last week aged 26 after being hit by a car in Durban late last month.
Mourners included Australian Rugby Union chief John O’Neill, past and present Wallabies, the Brumbies and NSW Waratahs squads as well as players from the Australian men’s Sevens squad which he captained and the national women’s Sevens squad he coached.
A host of his former Roosters teammates, including Chris Flannery, who flew back from England - where he plays in the Super League - also attended the service, as did NRL auditor Ian Schubert and judiciary panelist Royce Ayliffe, ex-teammates of Mackay’s father.
On the coffin were draped seven jerseys for the teams he played with: Clovelly, Waverley, Sydney Roosters, Randwick, Melbourne Rebels, Australian 7’s and the Brumbies.
Before playing for Randwick, the Waratahs and Brumbies, Mackay also spent several seasons in the NRL with the Roosters, fulfilling his dream to follow in the footsteps of his father John, who played for the club in the 1970s and ’80s.
The Brumbies have instituted a ‘no-alcohol’ policy in the wake of the death of forward Shawn Mackay.
In tribute to the forward, Andy Friend’s side are keen to follow up recent wins over the Cheetahs and Stormers with a strong finish to 2009.
And when one reporter asked Mark Gerrard whether the Brumbies would raise a glass in memory of Mackay, the full-back revealed the Australians have installed a complete drinking ban.
“We’ll toast ‘Macca’, but what we are going to do as a team is stay off it [alcohol] for a couple of weeks,” he said,speaking to Rugby Heaven.
“The goal for us is to make him proud and get as many wins as we can. So with that comes a few sacrifices. Not having him here means we won’t be celebrating as much as if he was here. But we will continue to celebrate his life by winning games of rugby.”
Next up for the Brumbies is a home fixture against the strong Bulls before a trip to Wellington as play-off spots start to enter every franchise’s thinking.
But despite the run-in, proud boss Friend found time to hail his side’s grit and mental strength under the difficult circumstances of recent weeks.
The Brumbies continued their training on Wednesday for the first time since the death of their team mate Shawn Mackay in Durban on sunday.
There will be a minute’s applause before their match against the Stormers on Saturday, while the players will wear black armbands for the rest of the season.
Mackay, 26, died in a Durban hospital as a result of complications stemming from injuries he sustained when he was hit by a car following the Brumbies’ loss to the Sharks in South Africa almost two weeks ago.
Captain Stephen Hoiles, who had been at primary school with Mackay, said on Wednesday that the shock had not subsided in many cases and that the rest of the season would be played in Mackay’s honour.
“Everyone’s doing it pretty tough, which is understandable,” he said to AAP.
“I’ve been thinking about it a fair bit, they’re the tough times … and that will continue for a long, long time.
“This group’s got an enormous amount of character, and my gut feeling is that after speaking to a few guys, that everyone really wants to play,” he added, in response to the suggestion that some of the players may not be willing to play because of their distress.
The Crusaders adapted best to the conditions to beat the Chiefs 26-19 in a tense Super 14 rugby clash here Friday.
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