Christchurch

The Canterbury Crusaders scored 21 points in the last nine minutes on Friday to beat the ACT Brumbies 33-3 and keep alive the battle for the last semifinals berth in rugby union’s Super 14. Front-rowers Corey Flynn and Campbell Johnstone, and replacement flanker Tanerau Latimer scored late tries to weaken the Brumbies’ hold on fourth place and bring South Africa’s Sharks and Bulls into renewed semifinals contention.

All Blacks flyhalf Daniel Carter became the ninth player to reach 600 points in super rugby, surpassing 150 points for the season, as the Canterbury Crusaders beat South Africa’s Cheetahs 53-17 in a Super 14 match on Saturday. Carter scored two tries, kicked two penalties and converted six of the Crusaders’ seven tries to take 28 points from the match.

The Canterbury Crusaders maintained their unbeaten record and took over the lead in rugby union’s Super 14 on Friday with a 17-11 win over the New South Wales Waratahs. The Crusaders edged the Waratahs two tries to one, posting their eighth win from as many starts to lead the competition by two points.

All Blacks Leon MacDonald and Aaron Mauger scored two tries each on Friday to give the Canterbury Crusaders a bonus point from a 43-15 win over South Africa’s Cats. Fullback MacDonald and centre Mauger both scored tries in each half, All Blacks lock Chris Jack and halfback Andy Ellis added others as the Crusaders ensured their place at the top of the championship ladder cannot be overtaken in the sixth round.

The New Zealand cricket team returns to its happy hunting ground at Jade Stadium confident of wrapping up their one-day international series against Sri Lanka on Tuesday. A win would put New Zealand firmly into fourth place in world rankings while Sri Lanka would drop out of the top six teams guaranteed direct entry into the Champions Trophy tournament later in the year.

Lions coach Clive Woodward has demanded action against All Blacks captain Tana Umaga and hooker Keven Mealamu after Lions skipper Brian O’Driscoll dislocated a collarbone in a crunching tackle early in the first rugby Test. The 3-21 loss to the All Blacks proved costly for the British and Irish Lions.

Prop Dave Hewett scored a valedictory try as the Canterbury Crusaders beat the New South Wales Waratahs 35-12 on Saturday to end a decade of Super 12 rugby with their fifth championship. The Crusaders led 35-6 after 64 minutes and seemed likely to make their fifth championship win their most emphatic.

The Canterbury Crusaders plan to avoid being beaten finalists in the Super 12 for a third straight year on Saturday by remaining focused on playing their own style of rugby against the New South Wales Waratahs, second-rower Chris Jack says. Both sides named unchanged sides on Thursday for the final at Christchurch’s Jade Stadium.

The Hurricanes will call on every iota of guile, experience and aggression to win Saturday’s Super 12 rugby semifinal in Christchurch, says Crusaders coach Robbie Deans. Ahead of the Jade Stadium showdown between the best two New Zealand teams in this year’s competition, Dean said his side know what to expect from the Hurricanes.

The Canterbury Crusaders secured the crucial position of a potential home final advantage in the Super 12 rugby championship with a 40-20 win over the Wellington Hurricanes on Friday. Before a sell-out crowd of 35 000, the Crusaders led by only 18-13 at half-time.

The Canterbury Crusaders scored seven tries in the first 42 minutes on Friday and held on for a 77-34 win over the Sharks in a Super 12 rugby match at Jade Stadium in New Zealand. The Crusaders gave up four tries in 15 minutes in the second half to see their 49-8 lead threatened, before scoring four more tries to restore its emphatic victory margin.

Andrew Mehrtens became the leading points-scorer in Super 12 rugby as he led the Canterbury Crusaders to a 40-36 win over South Africa’s Cats at Jade Stadium on Saturday. Mehrtens needed only his first penalty in the fourth minute to reclaim the points-scoring record he previously conceded to Wallabies fullback Matt Burke.

Jeff Wilson’s sporting rebirth from All Black to Black Cap may inspire former Springbok rugby fullback Conrad Jantjes to make a similar switch later in his career.
The 25-year-old Jantjes settled on rugby as a professional career, but the former all-rounder has not ruled out returning to the cricket crease some day.

Robbie Deans maintains sentimentality played no part in his decision to start Andrew Mehrtens alongside Justin Marshall for Saturday night’s Super 12 rugby match at Jade Stadium in Christchurch. So, Daniel Carter’s relegation to the reserves must fall into the sensible category.

Shrek, a New Zealand sheep who won international fame a year ago with his substantial 27,5 kilogram fleece, has been left bleating in the background with the emergence of an even bigger woolly wonder. Fleece from Shrek 2 weighed 31kg and measured three metres in length when shorn over the weekend.

Australia cruised to a simple nine-wicket win with a day to spare on Sunday after New Zealand’s second innings was torn apart by a magical Shane Warne. Justin Langer hit the winning runs just before the scheduled close on the fourth day, after the New Zealand batting line-up had conceded a world record seven batsmen to leg-before-wicket dismissals.

A rampant Australia start firm favourites in the first cricket Test against New Zealand starting in Christchurch on Thursday with speed demon Brett Lee at his blistering best after tormenting the Black Caps in the one-day series. As the tourists aim for a clean sweep in the Tests to complement the 5-0 drubbing they handed out in the one-day series, their ranks have now been bolstered with opening batsman Matthew Hayden.

Australian opener Matthew Hayden returned to his majestic best with a superb century as the world champions trounced New Zealand by 106 runs in the second one-day international on Tuesday. After being sent in to bat on a placid Jade Stadium pitch, Hayden lashed 114 off 124 balls, including 12 fours and two sixes.

A growing number of foreign climbers may die on New Zealand mountains after being lured there by the promise of adventure on mountains showcased in The Lord of the Rings movies, mountain safety authorities warned on Wednesday. The warning comes after a 22-year-old Australian fell to his death on Tuesday.