A 20-year-old rugby player compared with All Black great Jonah Lomu has become the subject of a tug of war between his native Fiji and adopted country Australia. The Fiji Times reported on Monday that Fiji-born Ratu Nasiganiyavi, the the cousin of Australia winger Lote Tuqiri, played for Australia under-20 in their 51-12 win over Fiji’s under-20 side on Saturday.
New South Wales (NSW) will travel to Christchurch to play the Canterbury Crusaders in the Super 14 rugby final after beating the Sharks 28-13 in Sydney on Saturday. The Waratahs scored four tries to one and were never in any real trouble against a disappointing Sharks outfit.
The Canterbury Crusaders wrapped up top spot going into the Super 14 play-offs but the battle for the remaining three berths stayed wide open after the penultimate round over the weekend. With one game to play, six teams hold a mathematical chance of joining the Crusaders in the semifinals.
The Stormers and Waratahs played out a pulsating 13-13 draw in a 12th-round Super 14 match in Cape Town on Saturday. The visitors led 6-5 at the break in pouring rain, which negated any chance of this being an exciting, try-scoring feast. And both captains felt the two points earned for the draw could be costly in their challenge for semifinal berths.
The New South Wales Waratahs climbed into the top four with a hard-fought 17-12 win over plucky Western Force in a thrilling Super 14 clash in Perth on Saturday. In a bruising encounter that claimed key players from both sides, the Waratahs scored the only two tries, one in each half.
The New South Wales Waratahs put a tumultuous week behind them to claim their first scoring bonus point of the season with a five-try spanking of the Auckland Blues in their Super 14 game on Saturday. The Waratahs gave their most accomplished performance of the season to down the third-placed Blues 37-16 to move into sixth place and press their semifinal claims.
Lote Tuqiri and Dean Mumm scored tries against the run of play to guide the New South Wales Waratahs to a 24-17 win over the ACT Brumbies in a Super 14 match on Friday. Wallaby wing Tuqiri intercepted a loose pass from Adam Wallace-Harrison to level the score, and then replacement lock Mumm charged down an attempted clearance to score the match winner.
No image available
/ 23 February 2008
The Waikato Chiefs scrambled to a 20-17 Super 14 victory over the New South Wales Waratahs in Hamilton on Saturday thanks to a last-gasp penalty from Stephen Donald. In a volatile final eight minutes, the Waratahs fought back from a 5-17 deficit to level the scores — only to see Donald break the deadlock with a minute to spare.
No image available
/ 19 February 2008
Wallabies winger Lote Tuqiri has labelled as ”short-sighted” remarks by Springbok flyer Bryan Habana that the new laws on trial in the Super 14 are making rugby union become more like rugby league. Tuqiri also applauded the way the new game requires players to be better all-round athletes.
![]()
Defending champions England again proved Australia’s nemesis, dumping the match favourites out of the Rugby World Cup with a high-pressured 12-10 quarterfinal victory at Stade Velodrome in Marseilles on Saturday. England, who downed the Wallabies in the 2003 final in extra-time and in the 1995 quarterfinal, both with drop goals, handled the high stakes better.
![]()
The Wallabies are focusing on blunting the effectiveness of Jonny Wilkinson in their crunch Rugby World Cup quarterfinal in Marseilles on Saturday to ensure there is no repeat of his match-winning heroics for England in the 2003 final. The masterful flyhalf has steadied England after their rocky start to the tournament.
No image available
/ 23 September 2007
![]()
The Wallabies claimed top spot in group B with a fitful 55-12 win over Fiji to lock up a quarterfinal place at the Rugby World Cup at Stade de la Mosson in Montpellier on Sunday. The Australians always had the game under control, but it was an unsatisfying, error-strewn performance against the second-string Fijians.
No image available
/ 15 September 2007
![]()
Two-time champions Australia beat Wales 32-20 in a bruising World Cup clash at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday to virtually make sure of avoiding South Africa in the last eight. The Wallabies, who had two players sin-binned late in the game, scored four tries but were pushed all the way by a spirited home side who had been on the ropes at 25-3 down at the break.
No image available
/ 3 September 2007
![]()
The great debate: Is this the Wallabies’ A team? Or merely the Wallabies’ A-frame team? That’s the question controversial Australian rugby columnist Greg Growden ask in his Monday Maul. It is impossible to avoid the fact that the Australian World Cup campaign revolves around those on their last Test legs, rather than those at the peak of their careers.