Chiefs and Waratahs claim narrow Super Rugby victories
Sunday 22 February 2015 14:12, UK
There were derby wins for the Crusaders, Reds and Sharks in this weekend's Super Rugby.
Sharks flourish in the rain
The Sharks managed their first win of the 2015 season when they defeated the Lions 29-12 at Kings Park in Durban.
Rain fell heavily before and during the game but the Sharks still managed to collect a bonus point thanks to tries from Odwa Ndungane, Cobus Reinach, and two from Marcell Coetzee.
A penalty and three conversions from Pat Lambie rounded off a far more impressive showing from the Durban outfit, who stuttered against the Cheetahs in the first round.
Stormers struggle against 14-man Blues
The Stormers recorded a 27-16 win over the 14-man Auckland Blues at Newlands.
Heyden Triggs was given his marching orders after punching an opponent, and the Blues were effectively out of the contest.
Stormers will still rue their inability to score a bonus point as they played 56 minutes with an extra man, and still only scored one try in that period through Dillyn Leyds. His score went with a try from Nic Groom in the tenth minute as well as four penalties from the boot of Demetri Catrakillis and one from Kurt Coleman to top the South African conference.
Reds win Aussie derby
The Queensland Reds put Karmichael Hunt's recent issues to one side to record a much-needed 18-6 win over the Western Force in Brisbane.
Lachie Turner, a late call-up at full-back after Karmichael Hunt was removed from the match-day 23 due to drug charges, scored 13 points including a try, conversion and two penalties at Lang Park.
A penalty try was the only other score of the game for the Queensland side while the Force added two penalties.
The Reds had a patchy start when they lost skipper James Slipper to a concussion and fellow Wallaby James Horwill to a hand injury in the opening exchanges of the match but they rallied to register the relieving win after being humbled by the Waratahs in Round 1.
Crusaders open account
The Crusaders survived a late Otago Highlanders comeback to register a 26-20 win on Saturday for their first victory of the season.
Todd Blackadder's men scored twice in the first half, with Scott Barrett and Johnny McNichol crossing the whitewash for the visitorys, to give them a 20-7 half-time lead - Aaron Smith dotting down for the Highlanders.
Colin Slade extended his team's lead in the 51st minute but spent they spent the remainder of the game defending as the Highlanders fought back in the New Zealand derby.
Malakai Fekitoa touched down on 60 minutes and Lima Sopoaga slotted a penalty with eight minutes remaining but a further penalty from Colin Slade gave the Crusaders a bit of a cushion as they closed out the game for the win.
Hurricanes beat the Bulls
Julian Savea's second-half try and four penalties from Beauden Barrett helped the Hurricanes to a 17-13 win at the Bulls.
The Hurricanes, who opened their season with victory over the Lions last week, trailed 10-9 after 40 minutes at Loftus Versfeld, but they hit back to make it two wins from two.
Handre Pollard scored all of the Bulls' points, converting his own try and adding two penalties, but it was not enough to stop them sliding to their second successive defeat.
Chiefs maintain 100 per cent start
The Chiefs kept up their 100 per cent start to the Super Rugby season with a last-gasp 19-17 win over the Brumbies in New Plymouth.
All Blacks fly-half Aaron Cruden kicked a penalty on full time to win the match for the Chiefs after the Brumbies had led for most of the second half.
The result extends the Chiefs winning streak at home over the Brumbies to four straight matches as the Canberra side last beat the Chiefs on New Zealand soil in 2007.
The home side had to replace Sonny Bill Williams and Sam Cane shortly before the match but it was Williams' replacement Charlie Ngatai who opened the scoring when he beat two defenders after being released by Hosea Gear.
Brumbies responded quickly as No 8 Ita Vaea pushed his way over from a driving maul but Cruden put the Chiefs 13-11 in front at the break with a penalty.
The Australian side kicked two penalties to restore their advantage but Cruden cut the deficit to a point with 12 minutes to go, and he then proved to be the Chiefs' hero in the dying seconds when the Brumbies knocked on from a line-out and then conceded a penalty from the resulting scrum.
Foley inspires Waratahs
The Waratahs secured their first win of the season as they claimed a bonus point 38-28 win over the Melbourne Rebels.
Both teams scored four tries each to earn a bonus point but the Rebels' is their first in Melbourne against a fellow Australian side.
It was only in the last few minutes that the reigning champions got on top, having given up a lead earned for them by a couple of tries from Taqele Naiyaravoro.
Naiyaravoro was later sin-binned, and the Rebels were able to draw level at 28-28 when replacement winger Sefenaia Naivalu added to their earlier tries from Scott Higginbotham, Lopeti Timani and Luke Burgess.
But Bernard Foley, who scored 15 points with his boot, broke two tackles to send Kurtley Beale over for a vital try and then kicked a 78th-minute penalty to seal victory.
