The Auckland Blues and South Africa's Sharks struck a blow for the slow starters in rugby's Super 14 yesterday, winning sixth round matches to edge away from the bottom of the table.
Defending champion Canterbury and traditional New Zealand rival Wellington continued to lead the way, closely pursued by a pair of Australian sides.
A week away from the halfway point of the season, the Crusaders (27 points), Hurricanes (24), New South Wales (23) and the ACT Brumbies (19) hold the top four -- and semifinal -- positions.
AFP PHOTO
The Brumbies dropped some valuable points against Auckland.
The Blues' win left them with eight points and only three spots off the bottom of the ladder but was built on a quality forward performance which suggested they will rise higher in coming weeks.
The Sharks enhanced their record as the best-performed South African team away from home and moved to 11 points after six games, into the middle of the table.
Fullback Isa Nacewa scored a try among 16 points to give the Blues their edge over the Brumbies. The win resonated in the coaching box where David Nucifora was guiding the Blues as head coach for the first time against the Brumbies after being fired by the Canberra franchise at the end of their 2004 championship-winning season.
Tries to flanker Troy Flavell and center Anthony Tuitavake helped the Blues to an 18-0 halftime lead and Nacewa's 61st-minute try clinched an exciting match but left them short of a four-try bonus point. He added 11 points from a conversion and three penalties.
"We concentrated a little bit more on set pieces this week," said Blues captain Keven Mealamu.
"The last few matches we've led at halftime but today it was just a matter of controlling the game and finishing off."
Henno Mentz and Jaques Botes scored second-half tries and Tony Brown landed 11 points against his former teammates to clinch the Sharks' win over the Highlanders.
Both teams scored a try and landed a penalty in the first half of a game in which they were variously deadlocked at 5-5, 8-8 and 11-11. Odwa Ndungane's first-half try matched the try scored by his twin brother, Akona, for the Bulls against the Hurricanes.
In Friday's matches, the Hurricanes relied for the second consecutive week on a last-minute try for a 26-23 win over the Bulls at Pretoria. The New South Wales Waratahs took a bonus point from a 32-7 victory over the winless Western Force to lie third on the table with 23 points.
All Blacks Leon MacDonald and Aaron Mauger each scored two tries as the Crusaders took a win and a bonus point against the Cats.
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