New South Wales Waratahs consolidated their place in the Super 14 top four with four second-half tries to claim a bonus point in their 26-3 win over South Africa’s Golden Lions yesterday.
The Waratahs rebounded from a dire scoreless first half in the rain to put the Johannesburg Lions away with live wire scrum-half Luke Burgess sparking the home team to their fourth straight win.
The Sydney team moved to joint second place and boosted their confidence for a crucial home game against the Coastal Sharks next Saturday.
But it was turgid going in an opening half stalemate, with both teams unable to post a point in gloomy conditions.
Skipper Phil Waugh finally got the Waratahs on the scoreboard in the 46th minute with a try in the corner after a snappy pass from fly-half Kurtley Beale off a goal-line maul.
Scrum-half Jano Vermaak kicked the Lions’ only points with a penalty goal seven minutes later, but Burgess swiftly changed the complexion of the match with two pieces of quick thinking.
Burgess, a potential Wallaby scrum-half following the retirement of George Gregan, took a quick tap penalty to catch the Lions’ defense off guard.
He passed to lock Dean Mumm who plunged over under the crossbar for a 12-3 lead after 57 minutes.
Burgess struck again a minute later, kicking down field and charging down replacement back Jannie Boshoff’s clearing kick for hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau to score the Waratahs’ third try, converted by Beale.
The Waratahs seized their scoring bonus point when replacement hooker Adam Freier scored off the back of a driving maul nine minutes from time.
The Waratahs have a tough finish to the season with next weekend’s final home match against the Sharks followed by matches in South Africa against the Northern Bulls and Western Stormers before returning home for a derby with the Reds.
The Lions, who remain stranded at the bottom of the standings, stay in Australia for their game against the ACT Brumbies on Friday.
The New Taipei Kings claimed the inaugural Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) championship on Sunday, defeating the Kaohsiung FamilyMart Aquas 108-89 in the final. Playing at home, the Kings pulled ahead with Jeremy Lin’s (林書豪) clutch three-pointers, securing their victory over the Aquas in the TPBL final. The Kings came out strong in the first quarter, dominating to build a 35-18 lead. By halftime, they had stretched their advantage to 61-38. In the third quarter, the Aquas narrowed the deficit to 12 points, but Lin stepped up, sinking several tough three- pointers to extend the lead. In the final quarter, the Kings pushed the
In an unlikely Ethiopian outpost of one the most French of pastimes, four men are leaning over their petanque balls, arguing over who is winning. Petanque, the bowling game also known as boules, is more readily associated with French village squares where locals launch metal balls at a jack while enjoying an afternoon drink, but for decades, it has also been a beloved pastime for members of a club near the iconic Meskel Square in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. It was founded in the early 20th century to cater to French railway workers, who built a line connecting Addis Ababa
SEMI-FINAL SWEEP: Taiwanese are to take up all four berths in the men’s doubles semi-finals, while three Taiwanese women’s doubles pairings secured spots Taiwan’s badminton ace Chou Tien-chen stayed hot as he secured a semi-final berth in the men’s singles at the US Open at Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Friday. Chou entered the Super 300 tournament as the top seed and breezed past Victor Lai of Canada 21-19, 21-8 in 37 minutes, advancing to the semi-finals for the second straight tournament. Earlier this month, the 35-year-old veteran finished runner-up at the Indonesia Open, becoming the oldest male shuttler to reach a Super 1000-level final. He was set to face Ayush Shetty of India last night after press time for a spot in the final. Meanwhile, 22-year-old Taiwanese
Spain are the favorites to win the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, but star player Aitana Bonmati’s illness ahead of the tournament raises another question mark around a side which, despite their obvious quality, are not unstoppable. Having claimed the last two Ballon d’Or awards, Barcelona midfielder Bonmati is the game’s biggest star at present, so her absence in the final days before the start of Euro 2025 is a major setback. The 27-year-old came down with a fever in training last week, and was subsequently hospitalized and diagnosed with viral meningitis. Bonmati was discharged on Sunday and joined up with
RSS