South African teams won three of their four matches and two sides -- the Sharks and Stormers -- nestled into strong playoff positions in weekend matches in rugby's Super 12 tournament.
At Durban on Saturday, the Sharks picked up their first victory over New Zealand's Canterbury Crusaders, a 29-25 decision at Kings Park.
The win moved the Sharks into second place, six points behind the leading ACT Brumbies, who beat New Zealand's Otago Highlanders 50-18 Friday.
The Stormers, meanwhile, edged Queensland 21-20 Saturday at Brisbane -- the South African team's first win at Ballymore -- to sit a point behind the Sharks in third place.
The Sharks, Stormers and fourth-place Canterbury (20 points) have played only seven games while the Brumbies have completed eight and will have a bye next weekend.
Four teams make the semifinals and four rounds remain this season.
At Johannesburg, flanker Wikus van Heerden led the Cats to their first win of the season as the last-placed side held off New Zealand's Waikato Chiefs 23-21.
The Bulls weren't able to make it a perfect weekend for South African teams, losing 56-19 Friday to the defending champion Auckland Blues. But the Bulls are tied for fifth with 18 points along with Waikato.
Four teams -- New South Wales and Wellington, which both had weekend byes, and the Highlanders and Blues -- have 17 points, leaving just seven points separating second place from 10th.
The win was a costly one for Auckland after Blues halfback Steve Devine was ruled out for the season with a right knee injury. Devine, who will need surgery, complained of severe pain and loss of feeling in his leg after he tried to hack a loose ball on against the Bulls.
A game-breaking try by Springbok fullback Brent Russell led the Sharks. Flanker Richie McCaw replied late for Canterbury, but a number of errors by the Crusaders gave the Sharks the match.
"We got in front early," said Sharks captain John Smit, "and then we spent the rest of the game blocking holes. It wasn't pretty, but we'll take it."
At Brisbane, the Stormers scored twice in 10 minutes in the second half after the Reds led 15-6 at halftime. Chris Rossouw's kicking was the difference for the South Africans, landing three penalties and a conversion to complement second-half tries by Marius Joubert and Quinton Davids. Stormers' coach Gert Smal was not happy with his team's first match of four in Australia and New Zealand.
"Our game was not up to scratch and it's something we have to work on," said Smal. "It wasn't a good game ... but it was important for us to start with a win."
Fullback Chris Latham said the narrow loss was typical of Queensland's season. The Reds have only two wins in seven matches for 11 points and have only the Cats (7 points) behind them in the standings.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and