Sports After Dark

The Blues, Sharks and Crusaders kept their unbeaten records intact over round three of the Super 14. Other teams like the Brumbies and Hurricanes got their season back on track with good wins, while the Stormers, Highlanders and Cheetahs find themselves in deep holes even at this early stage.

Hurricanes 39 Chiefs 19
The Hurricanes finally got their high risk offence to click as they put on a try demolition of the Chiefs but will still have some work to do. Ma’a Nonu was at his blockbusting best and frustrating worst, breaking the line regularly, scoring the opening try and turning the ball over too frequently. The Hurricanes’ loose forward trio of Jerry Collins, Rodney So’oialo and Chris Masoe played well, frequently showing up in midfield and distributing ball well. The Chiefs put up a valiant effort, running in two tries of their own but also lost the inspirational Jono Gibbes to what appeared to be a serious knee injury.

Lions 16 Force 18
The Force do not seem to mind how they win, as they racked up their second ugly win in a row, leaving their South African tour with two wins and a loss. Two early tries put the Force in the driver’s seat and they never relinquished their lead. Matt Giteau showed his class again, directing his back line well and playing a role in both tries. The Lions had a chance to steal the game early in the second half when Jano Vermaak had the Force line open but was called back by referee Kelvin Deaker for a knock on, but replays suggested the ball had come off a Force hand. In the end the Force deserved their win and now head home where they face the second place Crusaders.

Stormers 0 Crusaders 22
For the first time in almost 10 years a Super Rugby team was held scoreless, but the Stormers didn’t fail to score, they didn’t even create any scoring chances. The Crusaders put on another dominant performance, but will be disappointed they only managed two tries and missed out on a bonus point. Andy Ellis and reserve winger Sean Maitland picked up a tries, while Dan Carter was back to his mercurial best, placing a deadly accurate cross field kick for Maitland’s try. Once again the Crusaders’ forward pack set the platform for their backs, out-muscling the bigger Stormer’s pack. The Stormers now head off on a four week tour of Australia and New Zealand, seemingly glad to leave the site of their three defeats behind.

Highlanders 12 Waratahs 15
On a soggy Dunedin night the Waratahs bungled their way to their second win of the season in a game which featured more kicking than an AFL game. The home side hit the front early, and even extended their lead while down to 14 men after a yellow card to Tom Donnelly, but the sheer weight of possession in favour of the Waratahs suggested it was only a matter of time until they hit the front. The lack of creativity shown by the visiting backs in the first half turned into aimless kicking in the second and both teams racked up a combined 79 kicks in play by full time. The Waratahs took the lead midway through the second half when Wycliff Palu picked up the dubious double of a try immediately followed by a yellow card, but from that point on, neither side looked like scoring any further points.

Brumbies 43 Reds 11
Losing veteran fullback Julian Huxley in the second minute could have spelt disaster for an already injury ravaged team, but instead the Brumbies drew inspiration from their fallen teammate and put in one of their best performances of the season. Huxley was knocked out making a regulation tackle and was carried off on a stretcher and spent the night in hospital. Winger Mark Gerrard took his game to the next level, picking up the first 10 points for the home side and ended the night with a haul of 18 points. The Reds were let down by a lack of discipline on attack, scoring their only try once the result was in no doubt.

Cheetahs 26 Blues 50
The Blues jumped to the top of the table with a bonus point win in Bloemfontein against the resilient Cheetahs. With their back line running rampant the visitors scored seven tries, a hat-trick to Joe Rokocoko, two to Isaiah Toeava and one each to Rudi Wulf and Anthony Tuitavake. Nick Evans was also at his best again, controlling the flow of the game well and picking up 15 points from the boot. The Cheetahs showed great character despite being outclassed in every facet of the game and came away with a well deserved bonus point for scoring four tries.

Bulls 15 Shark 29
The lead swung back and forth as Morne Steyn and Rory Kockott traded kicks throughout the game, but it was a three try burst over seven minutes which sealed the game for the Sharks. Steyn picked up all the points for the home side, kicking four penalties and a drop goal, but his team found the visitor’s black wall of defence impossible to break. With 17 minutes to go the Sharks were down by 15-10, when super sub Jacques Bote first set up a try to Keegan Daniel and later added one of his own to pick up the bonus point. The game was tightly contested throughout and threatened to boil over on several occasions; three yellow cards were issued, two for the Bulls and one to the Sharks.

Similar Posts:

• Super 14: Local derbies and close games make for a good round, mostly
• Super 14 Week 11 Wrap
• Super 14 Week 14 Wrap
• Super 14: Playoff hunt hots up as the season gets to the business end
• Super 14 Week 10 Preview

The Top teams continue their dominance in the Super 14 by Hamish McBrearty, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.