Super Rugby 2015, round 12 wrap: Waratahs competition’s in-form side, Rebels mid-season surge continues
THE NSW Waratahs’ fourth consecutive victory over the Brumbies secured their place as Super Rugby’s most in-form side. Read out full round 12 wrap here.
Super Rugby
Don't miss out on the headlines from Super Rugby. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THE Waratahs are now Super Rugby’s form team, while the Rebels continued their mid-season surge with a dramatic victory over the Chiefs.
It’s all in our Super Rugby round 12 wrap.
WARATAHS SUPER RUGBY’S FORM TEAM
YES, it’s true — the NSW Waratahs are currently Super Rugby’s most in-form side after recording their third straight win on Friday night. Only one other side — the Hurricanes — is on a multiple-match winning streak.
The Waratahs’ 13-10 victory over the Brumbies was their first in Canberra since 2011, but fourth straight over their fiercest rivals in a run stretching from round 17 last year.
The match finished one try apiece, with Joe Tomane’s eighth minute try cancelled out by an effort from Adam Ashley-Cooper just six minutes later.
A 58th minute penalty goal from Bernard Foley — who had a quiet game and was thoroughly outplayed by opposite number Christian Leali’ifano — proved the difference as the Waratahs defended for their lives to protect their three point lead for the majority of the second half.
The Waratahs came out on top on the score board, but opinions were divided over just who won the most intriguing battle of the night between opposing flankers David Pocock and Michael Hooper.
Unlike the duck and weave tactics of Floyd Mayweather against boxing foe Manny Pacquiao, Pocock and Hooper went at each other like men on a mission and emerged with the battle scars to show for it.
Arguably Hooper offered more in attack, but Pocock’s dominance at the breakdown may have edged the battle in his favour on points.
But the close nature of that battle and the match as a whole only served to create more selection headaches for Wallabies mentor Michael Cheika, with both sides clearly asserting their position as Australia’s premier Super Rugby outfits.
The Brumbies’ bonus point earned for the narrow loss means they have retained a one-point buffer over the Waratahs on the competition standings, with NSW now edging into the top six after their victory.
REBELS EYE OFF FINALS
IT seems almost impossible that the Melbourne Rebels would have been talked about as finals contenders in 2015 and yes, they are still sitting in tenth position.
But had their 18-16 loss to the Waratahs in round 11 gone the other way, the Rebels would now be just one win outside the top six.
On Saturday night the Rebels continued their surge in form with a 16-15 upset victory over the Chiefs at AAMI Park, set up with a brilliant first half performance that handed them a 16-3 lead at the break.
Captain Scott Higginbotham drew level with Brumbies great Owen Finegan on 29 Super Rugby tries, the record for a forward, when he dived over in the corner in the 18th minute.
Boom scrumhalf Nic Stirzaker added a second on the stroke of half time, before the Chiefs fought back through tries from Charlie Ngatai and Michael Leitch in the second half.
Incredibly, replacement flyhalf Damian McKenzie had a chance to snatch the lead for the Chiefs, but his conversion attempt after leitch’s 68th minute try only succeeded in hitting the post.
But for the Rebels, it was another giant-killing performance — they have now defeated every New Zealand Super Rugby side in their short history.
They currently sit on 24 competition points and with favourable fixtures against the Blues and Reds in the next fortnight, could be knocking on the finals door heading into the final month of the regular season.
FORCE ANCHORED TO BOTTOM
FRUSTRATION is building in the west after the Force slumped to their tenth straight loss against the Blues on Saturday afternoon in Auckland.
A late fightback by the Force — they scored four of the last five tries — will do little to paper over the cracks after a poor fortnight in New Zealand.
In round 11 the Force and Chiefs crossed for four tries apiece, but the Chiefs had opened up a 30-8 lead inside 50 minutes before the Force’s late fightback began.
It was a case of déjà vu this weekend as the Blues ran riot in the first half and early in the second period, establishing a 31-0 lead before the Force’s customary late surge saw the match finish with a more respectable 41-24 scoreline.
The positives for the Michael Foley’s men appear to be few and far between at the moment, but the coach will be impressed with his team’s endurance and tenacity.
Despite falling a long way behind on the scoreboard in both matches on their New Zealand tour, the Force scored a combined seven tries in the last half-hour of each game.
The other piece of good news is their opponents this coming weekend are their apparent Super Rugby bunnies.
The NSW Waratahs travel to Perth for an east vs. west derby on Saturday night on the back of consecutive losses to Foley’s side, including their upset 25-13 round one loss that remains the Force’s only win of 2015.
HIGHLANDERS RUN RIOT
AMONG the razzle dazzle of the Hurricanes, the size of the Chiefs and the class of the Crusaders, it is often forgotten that another Kiwi side possesses all three.
The Highlanders are playing like a team free of pressure or burdens to perform, offloading, chip-chasing and sidestepping their way to the most comprehensive performance of the weekend against the Sharks on Friday night.
The Highlanders ran riot in Dunedin, scoring seven brilliant tries on their way to a 48-15 drubbing of their South African visitors.
Flyhalf Lima Sopoaga was the star of the show, creating scoring opportunities at will to pick apart the flailing Sharks defence.
His brilliant pinpoint accurate kick to find a flying Waisake Naholo on the right wing five minutes before the break stands out as a moment that demonstrated the freedom and creativity of Jamie Joseph’s outfit.
Since round three, the Highlanders have lost just twice — once to the table-topping Hurricanes, and last weekend’s literal mauling at the hands of the Brumbies.
Their season will be defined over the next three weeks as they venture to South Africa to take on the Lions and Cheetahs before taking on the Force in Perth.
Should they come through those matches largely unscathed, the Highlanders may just be a knockout hope for an inaugural Super Rugby title.
CANES VICTORY COMES AT COST
THE All Blacks’ flyhalf crisis could be set to deepen after Beauden Barrett left the field injured during the Hurricanes’ 29-23 victory over the Crusaders on Saturday in Wellington.
Barrett went down in a tackle from Luke Whitelock and Colin Slade and while he tried to play on, Hurricanes medical staff took him from the field. He is due to have scans on Monday.
After already losing Aaron Cruden, Barrett appeared a leading candidate to be All Blacks coach Steve Hansen’s preferred first five for the World Cup.
But the injury to their star playmaker wasn’t enough to stop the Hurricanes continuing their sparkling 2015 season as they disposed of their fierce rivals in a thrilling encounter.
The teams went to half-time level at two tries apiece as Barrett and Brad Shields’ five-pointers for the home side were cancelled out by Slade and veteran Dan Carter for the Crusaders.
Two second-half penalty goals kept the visitors in the contest, but ultimately the class of the Hurricanes shone through as two more tries to forwards Reggie Goodes and Blade Thomson gave them an ultimately matchwinning six point buffer.
While the Hurricanes now sit five points clear at the top of the New Zealand conference and the competition’s overall standings, the Crusaders face an uphill battle to make the finals, languishing in ninth overall five points out of the top six.
CHEETAHS MAKE STORMERS PAY
STORMERS replacement flyhalf Kurt Coleman missed three straight shots at goal before Clayton Blommetjies snatched a late try to hand the Cheetahs an upset 25-17 victory in Bloemfontein.
Coleman, on for injured sharpshooter Demetri Catrakilis, had the chance to turn an 18-17 deficit into a winning margin for the Stormers, but fell victim to the set-shot disease that has infected Super Rugby in 2015.
The Cheetahs then rubbed salt into the wound as Blommetjies made a lighting break to score unopposed under the posts.
Earlier, the Cheetahs had established an 18-3 lead in a little over 20 minutes as the Stormers appeared uncharacteristically lackadaisical in defence, before they returned fire with a double to close the margin to a single point with 20 minutes to play.
But after Coleman’s triple miss and the Cheetahs’ 70th minute matchwinner, the Stormers now find themselves out of the top six and in a battle to regain their finals position, starting when they host the Brumbies this weekend.
BULLS CONTINUE WINNING RUN
THE Bulls asserted themselves as South Africa’s best side this season with a bonus point 35-33 victory over the Lions on Sunday morning.
An early double to Piet van Zyl gave the Bulls an early lead that they appeared good value for, enjoying the majority of possession and territory at the Loftus Versfeld.
But on the back of an adventurous attacking philosophy the Lions clawed their way back into the game, taking a 26-25 lead after Elton Janthjies — who put on another clinic with the boot — converted a try from Jacques van rooyen midway through the second half.
But the Bulls reasserted their dominance in the closing stages, with a try to Pierre Spies and penalty kick from young gun Handre Pollard enough to hold on to victory despite the Lions giving them a late scare.
The Bulls now sit four points clear at the top of the South African conference, while the bonus point gained by the Lions for their close loss has kept them in eighth overall and within striking range of a shock finals appearance.
Originally published as Super Rugby 2015, round 12 wrap: Waratahs competition’s in-form side, Rebels mid-season surge continues
Suaalii’s new position revealed ahead of Super Rugby opener
After missing NSW’s final trial match against the Brumbies a fortnight ago, Super Rugby’s highest-profile recruit has been given a positional switch for his Waratahs debut.
Axed star opens up on controversial Wallabies snubbing
Langi Gleeson was invited to be part of the Wallabies training camp – as he pushed towards a call-up against the British and Irish Lions. And then it was brutally snatched away from him.