NZ teams take Super 14 lead
2006-02-26 13:17
Sydney - New Zealand provincial powerhouses Wellington Hurricanes and Canterbury Crusaders have staked early claims to this year's Super 14 rugby title.
The Hurricanes and defending champion Crusaders remain unbeaten after three rounds of the southern hemisphere provincial series, but with flattering wins over South African teams.
Wellington edge Canterbury by a point at the top after taking a scoring bonus point for a third straight week in a 29-16 win over Johannesburg's Golden Cats at home, while the Crusaders needed a late drop goal to sink Durban's Coastal Sharks 22-20 in Timaru.
South Africa's Stormers hung on for a 15-15 draw with Australia's ACT Brumbies in Cape Town on Friday, while the Northern Bulls leapfrogged NSW Waratahs into fourth place with a 26-17 victory over the Sydney franchise in Pretoria on Saturday.
New Zealand's Otago Highlanders scored two tries to nil to beat South African newcomers Central Cheetahs 17-12 in Bloemfontein Saturday to move into sixth place.
Auckland Blues climbed off the bottom of the standings into 12th place following their 21-20 victory over Queensland Reds in Brisbane, while Waikato Chiefs returned from their win-less South African tour with a 26-9 win over Australia's Western Force in Perth.
South African teams find it heavy going on their road trips to New Zealand and Australia, but Springbok coach Jake White would have been encouraged by the committed showing of the Cats and Sharks, who finished in the bottom two last season.
The Cats' defence disrupted the free-flowing Hurricanes backline in a match peppered with errors and two touchdowns late in the first half, and another right on fulltime ensured a flattering scoreline for the Hurricanes.
With the forward packs evenly matched, the pace of Lome Fa'atau on the right wing and the composure of veteran flyhalf David Holwell were among the telling differences for the Hurricanes.
In Timaru, a 40-metre drop goal by All Black Dan Carter in the last seven minutes carried the Crusaders to a slim victory over the Sharks.
The prospect of a surprise defeat for the All Black-studded Crusaders looked likely early in the second half when Canterbury fell behind 20-6.
The Crusaders looked off their game, similar to their patchy performance against the Queensland Reds last week.
But the Sharks deserved credit for a solid defensive performance which rattled the Crusaders. They tackled hard, forcing their opponents into errors and took their chances through fullback Percy Montgomery, who scored 15 points from a try, two penalties and two conversions.
It was up to Crusaders captain and open-side flanker Richie McCaw to inspire his team's second-half comeback.
The Stormers bounced back from their home loss to the Waratahs to hold the Brumbies, who scored the only two tries of the match.
The match never reached any greats heights and was riddled with errors. Stormers' fly-half Peter Grant kicked his team's points with five penalties.
The Bulls' win over the Waratahs was an important psychological triumph for the South Africans, who conceded a last-minute try when losing to the Brumbies the previous weekend.
After leading 26-3, the Bulls endured some anxious moments in the closing stages as the Waratahs hit back with two tries.
The Cheetahs dominated possession and possession, but had to settle for a bonus point against the Highlanders.
Auckland raised their first victory over Queensland in five visits to Brisbane to snap a run of five defeats for the one-time Super 12 powerhouses following on from their three losses at the back-end of last season.
The Waikato Chiefs, coming off two defeats in South Africa, broke through for their first win of the season over Western Force, who paid a heavy price for elementary mistakes and remain pointless after three matches.