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Waratahs, Western Force do their best not to lose

The New South Wales Waratahs and Western Force played out an ultra-conservative 16-16 Super 14 draw that again highlighted a worrying decline in Australian rugby standards yesterday.

Both teams appeared anxious not to lose rather than win in a match of few thrills in another Australian derby that failed to entertain the fans following last month's excruciating ACT Brumbies' 6-3 derby win over Queensland Reds.

Wallaby Lote Tuqiri, in the midst of a tug-of-war between rugby union and rugby league over his services next season, vented his frustrations when he remonstrated with team-mate Sam Norton-Knight for taking a quick tap penalty on the full-time siren rather than having a shot at penalty goal.

Tuqiri was seen to push Norton-Knight in the back and harangue him over his impetuosity rather than give fullback Peter Hewat a chance to snatch a last-gasp victory with a difficult angled penalty attempt.

Force scored two tries to one and claimed their third draw in 17 matches in their second season of Super 14, while the Waratahs were held to their first draw in 64 home games in Super 12 and 14 rugby.

The Waratahs were guilty of wasteful kicking and turnovers while in possession and the two points from the draw kept them floundering in 11th place, while the Force edged into the top five with the rest of the weekend round to come.

The Waratahs jumped to a 13-0 lead after 21 minutes following a strong try to winger Morgan Turinui and two penalty goals and a conversion from Peter Hewat.

But the Perth franchise fought their way back to trail 13-11 at half-time after fullback Drew Mitchell polished off slick passing from a maul by Matt Henjak and Matt Giteau.

Wallaby ace Giteau, the expensive off-season acquisition, justified his price tag with a clever step to surge into a gap and score three minutes after halftime to put the Force 16-13 ahead.

Hewat hit an upright with a penalty attempt minutes later before he drew the Waratahs level with a 65th-minute penalty goal.

Cameron Shepherd had the chance to clinch the game for the Force but he hooked his penalty attempt with five minutes left to finish the match with two successes from six attempts.

Blues beat Highlanders

The Auckland Blues wore down a desperate Otago Highlanders defense to win their Super 14 rugby clash 28-9 on the back of a second-half scoring spree yesterday.

The Blues stay at the top of the table, with their fourth win in five games, while the Highlanders slip to two wins from five.

Although the Highlanders led 6-3 at halftime, and were ahead 9-8 with 30 minutes remaining, they lacked sufficient ball to present themselves as serious challengers.

As the game wore on the toll of making 116 tackles to 63 began to show, and the Blues ran in three tries -- two to the ever-improving Isaia Toeava and one to captain Troy Flavell, with Luke McAlister adding 13 points with the boot.

Toeava, discarded as an All Black at the end of last season, is starting to show his true potential, and his combination with McAlister let the Blues control the midfield.

He was denied a hat-trick of tries only by the brilliance of tireless Highlanders halfback Jimmy Cowen who rolled Toeava onto his back in a desperate tackle over the line.
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