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/ 18 May 2008

Sharks surge into semifinals

The target for a Super 14 rugby semifinal berth for the Sharks was clear — a bonus-point victory initially or a win by 18 points or more — as they took to the field against the Chiefs of New Zealand at the Absa Stadium in Durban on Saturday night. In the end, it was a convincing triumph as the necessary tries were secured and surpassed.

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/ 3 May 2008

Giteau penalty gives Force 22-21 win over Chiefs

Wallaby flyhalf Matt Giteau kicked a penalty just before the whistle to give the Perth-based Western Force a thrilling 22-21 win over the Waikato Chiefs in their Super 14 rugby clash in Perth on Saturday. The Chiefs appeared to have clinched victory when centre Callum Bruce kicked a drop goal with only three minutes left but the Force threw everything at the visitors in the dying stages.

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/ 18 April 2008

Crusaders’ unbeaten run comes to an end

Flyhalf Stephen Donald passed 100 points for the season as the Waikato Chiefs beat the Canterbury Crusaders 18-5 in Super 14 rugby on Friday, ending the first-place Crusaders’ eight-match unbeaten streak. Donald kicked two penalties and a conversion and had a hand in the two tries that gave the Chiefs an 18-0 lead at half-time.

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/ 17 April 2008

Sharks look to keep unbeaten record intact

The Sharks believe their efforts to remain unbeaten in the Super 14 became more difficult when their 10th-round opponents, the ACT Brumbies, announced midweek that coach Laurie Fisher would not be re-hired for 2009. Super 14 tradition suggests that teams whose coaches are dismissed in the course of any season respond with an immediate form improvement.

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/ 14 March 2008

Stormers too strong for Chiefs in Super 14

South Africa’s Stormers beat New Zealand’s Waikato Chiefs 35-26 in Hamilton on Friday to record their second successive win in the Super 14. The Stormers outscored the Chiefs four tries to two to claim a bonus point for the second week in a row after losing their first three matches at home in South Africa.

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/ 8 March 2008

Chiefs run down tiring Cheetahs

New Zealand’s Waikato Chiefs staged a brilliant second-half comeback to beat South Africa’s Cheetahs 22-20 in a Super 14 match at Hamilton on Saturday. The Cheetahs looked to have the game sewn up when they raced to a 17-0 lead at half-time, but the Chiefs suddenly turned things around.

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/ 16 February 2008

Blues strike late to see off tiring Chiefs

The Blues scored three second-half tries to beat New Zealand rivals the Chiefs 32-14 in an entertaining Super 14 match in Auckland on Saturday. Lock Troy Flavell, winger Joe Rokocoko and replacement Ben Atiga took advantage of the tiring Waikato defence to cross the line after the Chiefs had led 11-8 at the interval.

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/ 8 September 2007

All Blacks rout struggling Italy

Hot tournament favourites New Zealand got their World Cup campaign off to the ideal start at the Stade Velodrome with a scintillating 76-14 rout of rivals Italy. The contest was dead and buried after the first 20 breathless minutes, during which the All Blacks scored five converted tries against an Italian team shown up to be woefully inept in their early defensive alignment.