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Crusaders cut up Sharks

Blues center Mils Muliania is tackled by Bulls prop Richard Bands, right, and center Ettienne Botha during their Super 12 match at Loftus in Pretoria, South Africa on Saturday. The Bulls beat the Blues 38-24. PHOTO: EPA

Canterbury's first-place status in rugby's Super 12 might last only 24 hours, but the Crusaders were determined to make sure everyone knew it was no fluke.

The Crusaders ran in 11 tries Friday to beat South Africa's Sharks 77-34. The winners scored seven tries in the first 42 minutes to knock New South Wales from the top spot for the first time this season after 10 rounds.

Canterbury has 35 points after seven wins and two losses, four points better than the Waratahs. But New South Wales can overtake the top spot -- and all but clinch a semifinal berth -- with a bonus-point win over the Otago Highlanders on Saturday.

Elsewhere Friday, the Bulls beat the Auckland Blues 38-24 to boost their chances of a semifinal berth, and Queensland defeated South Africa's Cats 21-15 in a match involving bottom-four teams.

At Christchurch, New Zealand, the Crusaders gave up four tries in 15 minutes in the second half to see a 49-8 lead threatened, then finished with four more tries to restore its emphatic victory margin.

Mils Muliaina of the Blues scores a try against the Bulls during their Super 12 rugby match in Pretoria, South Africa on Friday. PHOTO: AP

All Blacks flyhalf Daniel Carter scored the first of the Crusader tries only seconds after the kickoff and kicked seven conversions from as many attempts to fatten a 42-8 halftime lead.

He was replaced after 50 minutes by fellow international Andrew Mehrtens, the leading point-scorer in Super 12 rugby, who added conversions of the last four tries to give the Crusaders an unblemished kicking record.

All Blacks winger Rico Gear scored tries in the 65th and 73rd minutes, Caleb Ralph added another and replacement Scott Hamilton touched down in injury time to end the evening's blitz.

"It was a tough one," said Crusaders captain Reuben Thorne. "In the first half we did some good stuff but it wasn't so good in the second half. To let them in for as many points as that was something we'll have to look at."

In Pretoria, South Africa, Bryan Habana scored a pair of first-half tries two minutes apart and another two tries in the final seven minutes secured the Bulls' victory over Auckland.

The victory left the Bulls in sixth place with 25 points, but pulled them within a point of the fourth-place Blues for the final semifinal berth.

Wellington was in fifth with 25 points heading into its ninth-round match against ACT on Saturday.

Habana's tries gave the Bulls a 12-7 lead by the 16th minute and, bolstered by Morne Steyn's kicking, they extended the advantage to 25-17 midway through the second half.

But a try by Mils Muliaina pulled the Blues within one before Etienne Botha scored his second try in the 73rd to restore the advantage and steer the Bulls to victory.

At Brisbane, Wendell Sailor and Chris Latham scored tries to lead the Reds.

Both teams are out of semifinal contention. The result left Queensland in eighth place with a 3-6 record after nine matches, while the 11th-place Cats are 1-8.

Cats winger Chumani Booi and Jaque Fourie scored tries for the visitors.

Scoring

* Canterbury 77 (Rico Gear 2, Daniel Carter, Chris Jack, Justin Marshall, Greg Somerville, Ross Filipo, Leon MacDonald, Casey Laulala, Caleb Ralph, Scott Hamilton tries; Daniel Carter 7 conversions; Andrew Mehrtens 4 conversions), Cats 34 (Cedric Mkhize, Albert van den Berg, Brent Russell, Warren Britz, Rudi Keil tries; Ruan Pienaar penalty; Conrad Barnard 3 conversions)

* Bulls 38 (Bryan Habana 2, Etienne Botha 2, Akon Ndungane tries; Morne Steyn 2 conversions; Steyn 3 penalties) def. Blues 24 (Isa Nacewa, Doug Howlett, Mils Muliaina tries; Luke McAlister 3 conversions; McAlister penalty)

* Queensland 21 (Wendell Sailor, Chris Latham tries; Elton Flatley penalty, Latham penalty, Julian Huxley penalty, conversion), Cats 15 (Chumani Booi, Jaque Fourie tries; Andre Pretorius penalty, conversion).
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