New South Wales secured a home Super 14 semifinal with an 18-11 win over Queensland in a derby match on Saturday that was short on attacking creativity or endeavour. The win, coupled with Wellington’s loss to Auckland on Friday, ensured the Waratahs will host a semifinal in Sydney next weekend.
The Wellington Hurricanes and Auckland Blues kick off a climactic final Super 14 round on Friday in which six teams have a chance of joining the Canterbury Crusaders in the final four. The make-up of the semifinalists is unlikely to be decided until the final match of the weekend when the Sharks play the Chiefs.
The Queensland Reds torpedoed the Western Force’s play-off hopes with a 29-12 upset victory in an all-Australian Super 14 rugby match on Friday. The Reds bounced back from a troubled season for their third victory of the campaign, scoring three tries against the bumbling try-less Force.
Under-fire Queensland Reds bounded out of the Super 14 rugby doldrums with a 40-8 demolition of fading champions the Northern Bulls of South Africa in Brisbane on Saturday. The Reds cashed in with five tries for their first bonus-point victory in the southern-hemisphere competition in four years.