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/ 9 May 2008

Hurricanes beat Force to close on semis

All Blacks hooker Andrew Hore scored his fifth try of the season and the Wellington Hurricanes boosted their semifinal chances in the Super 14 with a 21-10 win on Friday over the Western Force. Wellington entered the penultimate regular-season round in third place on the championship table, behind the Canterbury Crusaders and New South Wales Waratahs.

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/ 12 April 2008

Waratahs edge past Western Force

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.

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/ 28 March 2008

Stormers too strong for Western Force

The Stormers scored one of the fastest tries in the Super 14 as they romped to a 32-16 win over Australia’s Western Force in Perth on Friday. Wing Tonderai Chavhanga caught the Force napping to touch down after just 48 seconds as the Stormers ended their month-long visit to Australia and New Zealand with three wins from four matches.

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/ 9 March 2008

Crusaders edge past Force

The Canterbury Crusaders showed their championship qualities to climb off the canvas and beat the Western Force 29-24 in a pulsating Super 14 clash at Subiaco Oval in Perth on Sunday. The Crusaders trailed 24-12 midway through the second half, but scored the last 17 points of the match to remain unbeaten in 2008 and claim top spot on the table.

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/ 23 February 2008

Giteau guides Western Force to close win

Matt Giteau scored all his team’s points — including a penalty goal in the fourth minute after the final whistle — to lead the Western Force over the Cheetahs 16-15 on Friday. The Cheetahs could have won with a penalty in the 80th minute, but a miss by replacement flyhalf Conrad Barnard led to a final series of attacks by the Force.

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/ 15 September 2007

Australia too strong for battling Wales

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.

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/ 8 September 2007

Australia run riot against Japan

Twice champions Australia showed they are starting to rediscover their best form at the perfect time by thrashing Japan 91-3 in their opening World Cup Pool B match on Saturday. Despite playing their first game in seven weeks, the Wallabies gave a brilliant display of open rugby to pile on 13 unanswered tries in their opening match of the tournament.

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/ 3 September 2007

Can ageing Wallabies hold their own?

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.