Super Rugby round-up: Wins for Lions, Stormers, Brumbies & Highlanders
Sunday 18 March 2018 18:06, UK
Lions hold-off Sunwolves, Stormers see off the Blues, Brumbies beat Sharks and Highlanders overcome Crusaders to go top.
Waratahs 51-27 Rebels
The Rebels looked to be on course for their fourth straight win when they led New South Wales 20-3 after 37 minutes before falling apart in the second half and losing 51-27 in the Australian derby match.
The Waratahs scored six tries in their impressive comeback win over the Rebels in Sydney.
The Rebels raced to a 14-point lead just before the halftime break after scoring three tries of their own but could not contain the Waratahs in the second half as NSW piled on 41 points after the break.
"We put a lot of pressure on them in the first half," Waratahs captain Michael Hooper said. "We let in some easy tries but we knew there was something building.
"That was our focus from halftime, come out and see what we could do under the high ball. Bernard (Foley) was amazing and Israel (Folau) and (Kurtley Beale) led us and were fantastic."
Lions 40-38 Sunwolves
Powerful hooker Malcolm Marx scored two tries as the Lions survived an almighty scare to secure a narrow 40-38 victory over a lively Sunwolves in their Super Rugby clash at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The Japanese side led the game at the hour mark but after the Lions regained the lead, they just about held off a late charge from the Japanese side.
Fullback Andries Coetzee, lock Marvin Orie, and wings Aphiwe Dyantyi and Rohan Janse van Rensburg, got the other tries for the home side.
Fullback Kotaro Matsushima, prop Craig Millar, wing Hosea Saumaki, lock Kazuki Himeno and hooker Atsushi Sakate scored the five tries for the visitors, who will be buoyed by their performance but disappointed they could not manufacture what would have been a first ever away victory in Super Rugby.
Stormers 37-20 Blues
Stormers rose to second in South Africa behind 2017 runners-up Golden Lions and Brumbies share second place in Australia with the Reds, seven points adrift of the Melbourne Rebels.
Playmaker Damian Willemse, one of numerous Stormers who battled 'flu during the week, gave a flawless 17-point goal-kicking performance and EW Viljoen scored two of the hosts' four tries.
"It was a great team performance," said man-of-the-match winner Willemse. "Many of us battled with illness throughout the week, but we gave our all today."
After winning their season opener, Stormers lost all three matches on a tour of Australasia, making success over the Blues at Newlands imperative.
Viljoen scored after 90 seconds to gave the home side a perfect start, they led 24-3 at half-time and whenever the Blues threatened a comeback, the Stormers responded by scoring.
"We believed we could stage a second-half comeback, but made too many errors," admitted Blues skipper James Parsons. "Credit to the Stormers - they were fantastic."
Brumbies 24-17 Sharks
The Brumbies got their season back on track with a 24-17 win over the Sharks in their Super Rugby clash in Canberra on Saturday.
After starting the season with a win over the Sunwolves in Japan, the Brumbies then suffered two losses to Australian rivals the Reds and the Rebels.
But in their first home game of the season, the Brumbies dug deep in defence to hold off a late surge from the Sharks.
With both teams scoring two tries apiece, fly-half Wharenui Hawera's four penalties - two of them from beyond 50 metres - proved the difference.
The home side opened strongly and were well on top in the first 20 minutes, taking an early lead through a Hawera penalty and a converted try by winger Lausii Taliauli.
The Sharks eventually began to get into the contest and were rewarded with a Robert du Preez penalty, but despite the Brumbies being reduced to 14 men when Lachie McCaffrey was shown a yellow card, the visitors could not take advantage and ACT led 10-3 at the break.
McCaffrey made amends soon after the restart when he set up Wallabies' winger Henry Speight to put the Brumbies into a 15-3 lead. But a try from Thomas du Toi helped get Sharks within five points before Hawera nailed three penalties.
The win looked secure, but Sharks full-back Curwin Bosch touched down with four minutes to go and the Brumbies needed some desperate defence to hold on for the win.
Highlanders 25-17 Crusaders
Two late penalties by Lima Sopoaga sealed a dramatic 25-17 victory for the unbeaten Highlanders over the Crusaders in a bruising clash in Dunedin.
In a frantic finish, the All Blacks' fly-half, who moves to England at the end of the season, stepped up after the Crusaders had narrowed the gap to two points with 25 minutes remaining.
The Highlanders scored three tries to two in the fast-paced, entertaining New Zealand derby as the defending champions Crusaders suffered a second successive loss.
It is the first time in three years the Crusaders have suffered back-to-back defeats, having gone down 29-19 to the Hurricanes last week.
"It was a hell of a game. We knew it was going to go down to the wire," said a relieved Highlanders skipper Ben Smith.
"We're still learning and it's still early in the competition. We just needed to make sure everyone was getting the right messages."
