New South Wales Waratahs made heavy going of their 25-21 victory over the winless Coastal Sharks in a poor Super 14 spectacle yesterday.
The Waratahs, playing their first match at home after a losing two-match South African tour scored three tries to two, but had luck on their side to keep the spirited Durban team at bay in the final stages.
The Waratahs were booed by their own supporters for continually kicking for territory and not opting to run the ball, and they had to defend grimly as the Sharks clawed back from 25-14 down with 30 minutes left.
The Sharks had their big winning chance with two minutes left with an overlap, before replacement Kurtley Beale intentionally knocked down Stefan Terblanche’s intended pass to Ryan Kankowski with the try-line beckoning.
Australian referee Paul Marks sent Beale to the sin bin, but turned down Terblanche’s pleas for a penalty try which would have broken the Sharks’ losing four-match start to the season.
The Sharks have won just twice from nine attempts in Sydney, with their most recent success a 26-19 win in 2000.
“Tonight, we did enough to win, but the scoreboard tells a different story,” Sharks captain John Smit said. “Four losses in a row is hard on us and we’re hurting, but we just have to keep at it.”
The Sharks at one stage were reduced to 13 players when referee Marks sent prop Jannie du Plessis and England flyhalf Andy Goode to the sin bin midway through the opening half.
Yet despite the reduced personnel, the Sharks trailed only 14-13 when they regained their full complement of players.
While they were down on numbers, No. 8 Kankowski scored a 50m intercept try off a Waratahs’ lineout win in the 26th minute to hand the Sharks a surprise lead.
The Waratahs appeared to have got on top of the Sharks with two tries to Daniel Halangahu and Tom Carter via the television match official for the home side to lead 18-14 at halftime.
Hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau stretched the advantage to 25-14 when he crashed over under the crossbar in the 51st minute, but they were the last points his team were to score.
Springbok center Adrian Jacobs dummied his way over the line minutes later for the Sharks to trail by four points, but despite dominating possession and a willingness to run the ball, the South Africans could not come up with the winning points they probably deserved in the end.
The Sharks stay in Australia and take on the ACT Brumbies in Canberra next Saturday, while the Waratahs are at home against the Golden Lions on Friday.
CRUSADERS 33, BLUES 20
AFP, CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand
The Canterbury Crusaders hit top gear in the second half of their Super 14 tie against New Zealand rivals Auckland Blues for a victory on home ground yesterday.
The Blues started strongly and the sides were almost on even terms at halftime, but the Crusaders’ relentless pressure eventually told as they clinched a three-try-to-one victory.
The win was a perfect welcome back for captain Richie McCaw, in the starting lineup for the first time this year and playing at blindside flanker rather than his more accustomed openside role.
“We were a bit rusty in the first half, it felt like we didn’t play much rugby,” McCaw said afterwards. “We felt if we got playing, the opportunities would come and I guess they did.”
With three wins from four rounds, the Crusaders are in touch with the competition leaders despite their shock second-round thrashing by the Queensland Reds.
Big defense was a feature of both the Crusaders and the Blues, but the turning point came midway through the second spell after a defensive blunder by Blues winger Rudi Wulf put the Crusaders on course for victory.
With a long wall of opponents advancing on Wulf on the 22m line, the winger’s long pass infield was intercepted by Crusaders’ inside center Ryan Crotty for an easy try under the posts, putting his side ahead 23-15 after Dan Carter’s conversion.
The class of All Black star flyhalf Carter was a crucial difference. He landed 18 points with the boot, drove the Blues back with some immaculate tactical kicking and was incisive with the ball in hand on attack.
Auckland counterpart Stephen Brett also had a strong day with the boot, kicking 15 points from four penalties and a drop goal.
The 16-15 halftime score in favor of the Crusaders was a fair reflection of a tight first half, with the scoreboard dominated by the kicking duel between Carter and Brett.
The Blues dominated early, but the home side scored the first try midway through the first half, with flanker George Whitelock scoring after Carter carved through the first line of defense.
After the Crusaders’ second try, from Crotty’s interception, outside center Robbie Fruen took the game out of the Blues’ reach by powering through the Blues defensive line.
Blues halfback Alby Matthewson scored a consolation try with six minutes remaining, opportunistically sneaking through a slumbering Crusaders defense from the breakdown.
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