Leaders Canterbury Crusaders and the Sharks will be under extra scrutiny this weekend about how they react to last week’s first defeats in rugby’s Super 14 series. The moody Auckland Blues are bracing for a backlash from the chastened Crusaders, whose unbeaten eight-match record was unceremoniously ended by the Waikato Chiefs in Hamilton.
The Queensland Reds torpedoed the Western Force’s play-off hopes with a 29-12 upset victory in an all-Australian Super 14 rugby match on Friday. The Reds bounced back from a troubled season for their third victory of the campaign, scoring three tries against the bumbling try-less Force.
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.
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 Canterbury Crusaders will field a largely second-string line-up against bottom team the Lions as they look to extend their six-point lead at the top of rugby’s Super 14 series this weekend. The six-time champions and the team to beat for this year’s southern hemisphere provincial crown are coming off a bye last weekend.
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.
Lions coach Eugene Eloff has had enough of his side’s near-wins in the Super 14, in which they have only one win and a draw from seven outings. ”I’m fed up with saying that this was another match we should have won,” Eloff said after Friday’s defeat to the Highlanders, who were bottom of the log before their 29-20 win over the Lions.
The Western Force came from a long way behind to snatch a thrilling 15-14 win over the Bulls in Perth on Friday night. Down 14-3 at half-time and staring down the barrel when still trailing by four points and with the Bulls in possession with just two minutes to go, the Force scored the winning try through rugby league convert Ryan Cross in the 79th minute.
The Sharks put their unbeaten record on the line in their opening Australasian tour match of the Super 14 rugby series against the Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday. The Durban-based team, along with table-topping Canterbury Crusaders, are the only two teams yet to taste defeat in the southern hemisphere provincial competition.
Bulls loose forward Pedrie Wannenburg will become the most capped Bulls player in Super rugby when he takes the field against the Western Force in Perth on Friday. Wannenburg, who was selected as flank alongside Wikus van Heerden, will surpass Victor Matfield’s record of 77 matches for the franchise.
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.
Crusaders coach Robbie Deans is expecting the toughest match so far for his unbeaten team in Friday’s New Zealand Super 14 rugby derby against the Hurricanes in Wellington. The six-time champions have looked dynamic in winning their first six games of the southern hemisphere provincial series.
Australia’s Western Force piled on 16 unanswered points in the last quarter to beat New Zealand’s Otago Highlanders 36-28 in a Super 14 match at Queenstown on Saturday. The Force trailed 28-20 with just 14 minutes to go but scored a late converted try and booted three penalties to cement their place in the top four.
Six-time champions the Canterbury Crusaders have boosted their team for an anticipated tough battle with the New South Wales Waratahs in this weekend’s feature Super 14 rugby clash in Christchurch. The Crusaders have the opportunity to open up a potential eight-point gap at the top with a bonus-point victory over the Waratahs on Friday.
After a flying start to the season, the powerful Canterbury Crusaders are giving key players a breather for their Super 14 match against tail enders the Cheetahs on Saturday. Despite making six changes, the match remains crucial for the Crusaders with pressure on the regular bench-warmers to maintain the team’s unbeaten record.
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.
Flanker Keegan Daniel scored a 16-second try to give the Sharks a perfect start en route to a 22-17 triumph over the Auckland Blues in a Super 14 thriller on Saturday. Daniel dotted down again as the home team took a 19-3 half-time advantage and then withstood fierce second-half pressure.
Super 14 frontrunners the Auckland Blues are looking to complete their triumphant South African leg with maximum points against the unbeaten Sharks in Durban on Saturday. New Zealand powerhouses Auckland and the Canterbury Crusaders have shredded South African opposition to state their claims for the southern hemisphere provincial crown.
Auckland Blues edged ahead of Canterbury Crusaders to continue New Zealand’s early season dominance of rugby’s Super 14 competition with comprehensive victories in South Africa this weekend. The Blues and Crusaders, who between them have won nine of the 12 Super tournaments back to 1996, maintained their unbeaten starts to the Southern Hemisphere provincial series.
The Auckland Blues took the outright lead in rugby’s Super 14 when they racked up 50 points for the second straight week against a South African opponent. The Blues followed last week’s 55-10 win over the Lions with a 50-26 win Saturday over the Cheetahs to secure their third straight bonus point and to open a one-point lead over their compatriots, the Canterbury Crusaders.
A glaring error by referee Kelvin Deaker cost the Lions seven points in the Super 14 match which they eventually lost 18-16 to the Western Force at Ellis Park on Friday night. The call forced the Lions to play catch-up after a Cameron Shepherd penalty had put the visitors ahead with a long-range penalty.
No image available
/ 28 February 2008
The Sharks and the Bulls will stage a replay of last year’s final in the third round of the Super 14 this weekend, with both teams attempting to prevent recent glory days from ebbing away. The Sharks won their first two matches by narrow margins, 17-10 over the Western Force and 12-10 — relying on penalties — over the Stormers.
No image available
/ 23 February 2008
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.
No image available
/ 17 February 2008
Scrumhalf Matt Henjak has returned home from Western Force’s Super 14 tour of South Africa to appear at a tribunal hearing into an incident which left teammate Haig Sare with a broken jaw. Henjak played in the Force’s 17-10 loss to the Coastal Sharks in Durban on Friday, the first of three matches the Perth-based franchise will play in South Africa.
No image available
/ 17 February 2008
South Africa’s World Cup winner Bryan Habana picked up where he left off last season to help the Bulls make a successful start to the defence of their Super 14 title. Habana, who was named as the IRB’s world player of the year after a magical season in 2007, continued his fairytale run of form.
No image available
/ 15 February 2008
Stefan Terblanche scored the try that sealed the Sharks’ 17-10 win over the Western Force in their Super 14 match in Durban on Friday. Fullback Terblanche, who was not in the 22 named for the match, was called into the team when French flyhalf Frederic Michalak withdrew with a calf injury.
No image available
/ 14 February 2008
The new Super 14 season, which begins on Friday, could help determine whether South Africa’s dominance of world rugby was a one-year wonder. South Africa provided both teams in last year’s Super 14 final — the Bulls beat the Sharks — and the Springboks went on to win the sixth World Cup in France.
No image available
/ 14 February 2008
Matt Henjak is free to play in Western Force’s opening Super 14 rugby clash this weekend after a hearing into his alleged altercation with teammate Haig Sare was adjourned until next week. After scathing criticism from the Australian Rugby Union over the club’s handling of the incident, Force bosses fast-tracked a serious misconduct tribunal to Thursday.
No image available
/ 13 February 2008
New laws more than new faces will add an element of unpredictability to the 2008 Super 14 rugby competition that kicks off Friday. The shadow of last year’s World Cup hangs over the tournament, adding a touch of intrigue, but it may be the adaptability of players to the experimental law variations that bears most heavily on its outcome.
No image available
/ 12 February 2008
Scrumhalf Matt Henjak will go on the Western Force’s Super 14 rugby tour to South Africa this week with a club disciplinary hearing hanging over him, team officials said on Tuesday. Acting Force CEO Mitch Hardy said Henjak would tour despite an incident that left teammate Haig Sare undergoing hospital treatment for a jaw injury.
No image available
/ 4 February 2008
Crusaders and Wallabies coach Robbie Deans says players from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa should be free to play in any of the three countries’ Super 14 rugby franchises. He is also supporting Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O’Neill’s view that the competition should be increased to two rounds.