Saturday 25 May 2019 19:23, UK
Recap all of Saturday's Super Rugby action from across the southern hemisphere as the Rebels, Crusaders, Jaguares, Stormers and Sharks post wins...
Fly-half Quade Cooper's ability to put players into space contributed to four of the Rebels' eight tries as they stayed in contention for the Australian conference title with a record win over the Sunwolves in Tokyo.
Cooper's wide passing into space led to tries for Marika Koroibete (two), Angus Cottrell and Dane Haylett-Petty while Jack Maddocks (two), Michael Ruru and Jordan Uelese also crossed for the visitors, who lost scrumhalf Will Genia shortly after half time when he appeared to be knocked unconscious in a tackle.
The Rebels (33) remained in touch with the Australian-conference leading Brumbies (34) and moved seven points clear of the third-placed Waratahs, who lost to the Jaguares later on Saturday in Sydney.
It was the most points the Rebels have scored in a Super Rugby match and surpassed their largest winning margin even with Jason Emery grabbing a consolation try for the Sunwolves.
Richie Mo'unga had a hand in all of the Crusaders' points as they put a controversial week off the field behind them to beat the Blues in Christchurch and extend their lead at the top of the New Zealand conference.
Mo'unga slotted four penalties and provided a deft chip kick over the defensive line that led to Bryn Hall's first half try in a stop-start match that never really got any flow.
Blues fly-half Harry Plummer kicked two penalties for the visitors, who struggled in the set piece and did not threaten the Crusaders' line until Rieko Ioane crossed in the 71st minute.
The Crusaders moved to 53 points with the victory, 13 ahead of the second-placed Wellington Hurricanes, who have a bye this week.
Winger Ramiro Moyano scored two tries as the Jaguares thwarted a fightback from the Waratahs to extend their lead at the top of the South African conference.
The visitors had Pablo Matera sin-binned in the second half for collapsing a rolling maul that also resulted in a penalty try, while Curtis Rona also scored a try with the flanker off the field to keep the Sydney-based side in the match.
Replacement flyhalf Joaquin Diaz Bonilla added two late penalties as they moved to 36 competition points, four ahead of the second-placed Bulls, who were beaten by the ACT Brumbies 22-10 in Canberra.
Intercept tries from Curwin Bosch and Makazola Mapimpi made the difference as the the Sharks moved second in the South African conference after a hard-fought win at King's Park in Durban on Saturday.
Daniel du Preez was the other try scorer as the Sharks went 14-0 ahead, only to allow their visitors to score two tries of through Lionel Mapoe and Cyle Brink to bring it back to 14-14 early in the second half.
Mapimpi's try with 20 minutes to go and Bosch's boot then proved decisive as the 10-point winning margin denied the Lions a point that might yet come back to haunt them.
The loss for the Lions kept up their dismal record of no wins this season against fellow South African teams.
The Stormers kept up hopes of a playoff place with a handy victory over the Highlanders on Saturday, outscoring them with four tries to three.
The Stormers, who started the weekend bottom of the South African conference, were 17-3 ahead at half-time after tries from new scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies and captain Siya Kolisi.
The Highlanders, also needing points in search of a playoff berth, scored second-half tries through Patelesio Tomkinson, Waisake Naholo and Siate Tokolahi.
But the Stormers always keep themselves ahead as lock Cobus Wiese and substitute Jean-Luc du Plessis also went over.
