The Canterbury Crusaders restored the Super 12 rugby status quo with an ominous victory to burst the unbeaten five-match bubble of the New South Wales Waratahs this weekend.
The champion New Zealand side ramped up the pressure in the second half to win 33-27, a final margin that did not accurately reflect the Crusaders’ dominance at the business end of the Sydney match.
The Crusaders left no doubt yet again that they are the team to beat in the southern-hemisphere provincial series as they close in on their sixth title in 10 years of the tournament.
It was a triumphant weekend for New Zealand with a clean sweep of victories over Australian opposition. The Auckland Blues smacked the bumbling defending champions ACT Brumbies 17-0, while the Otago Highlanders ground out a 23-16 win over Queensland Reds in Brisbane.
After six matches, the Waratahs’ lead has been clipped back to four points ahead of the Wellington Hurricanes, who cranked up for their fifth win in downing the Waikato Chiefs 28-16 at home on Friday.
The Crusaders advanced to third spot with their bonus-point win over the Waratahs, while the Highlanders nudged out the Brumbies from fourth spot.
South Africa’s four franchises — Western Stormers, the Coastal Sharks, Golden Cats and Northern Bulls — had the weekend off.
The Waratahs matched the Crusaders in the first half before a Sydney full house to shade it 13-12 at half-time, but the Kiwis were far too strong in the second half, powering to a 33-20 lead before a converted try by Lote Tuqiri prised a losing bonus point for the home side.
The superbly drilled Crusader forwards ground the Waratahs into errors as winger Rico Gear scored two tries along with All Black flyhalf Andrew Mehrtens and Test lock Chris Jack.
The Crusaders now head to South Africa for matches against the Bulls and Stormers over the next two weeks, and on Saturday’s form look set to top the table before too long.
It was the Crusaders’ fifth win in nine Super 12 encounters with the Waratahs, who now must regroup and keep their semifinal campaign rolling against the Hurricanes in Wellington next Sunday.
The Auckland Blues upset the sloppy Brumbies and took a giant step towards getting their season back on track with a resounding win over the ACT Brumbies at Eden Park on Saturday.
It was the first time in 10 seasons of Super 12 that the Brumbies failed to register a point in a match.
Coming off a fortnight of turmoil, including a record defeat by the Crusaders, the banning of three senior players for stomping, and the dumping of out-of-form flyhalf Carlos Spencer, the Blues had been all but written off.
But spirit and cohesion returned as they inflicted a second successive defeat on the reigning champions, who remained below par after their surprise loss to the Sharks in South Africa last week.
The Brumbies had their share of the ball but were constantly let down by handling errors, many stemming from misguided passes, even from the usually reliable George Gregan.
The Hurricanes’ three tries to one win put them into second place on the table and left the Chiefs wallowing at the bottom, but they did it the hard way.
Apart from in the lineouts, the Chiefs forwards were able to dictate terms, while the advantage the Hurricanes held in the backs was due more to the individual brilliance of Tana Umaga, Conrad Smith and Shannon Paku rather than any cohesive performance.
But as the game progressed, the Hurricanes showed how they have developed from a side that in recent years produced ability but not results, into a team that now knows how to win even if the performance is unconvincing.
The Highlanders dug deep with a committed defence to end their road trip on a high with a dogged win over the dismal Queensland Reds.
Flanker Josh Blackie scored two first-half tries as the Highlanders held firm in the face of unimaginative Queensland attempts to break them down in the second half after trailing 17-16 at half-time.
But the home side, coming off a bye, could not register a point in the second half, not even when flanker Craig Newby was in the sin bin for 10 minutes leaving Otago a man short. — Sapa-AFP