Northern Bulls reclaimed first place on the Super 14 standings after a hard-fought 14-10 victory over Western Stormers in a bruising South African derby on Saturday.
It was the second consecutive weekend in which the Bulls, who scored 92 points in their opening victories over Queensland Reds and Auckland Blues, found the going much tougher against local opposition. A sell-out 50,000 crowd at Loftus Versfeld saw a match in which the tactics changed dramatically after the Bulls turned over leading 6-3 and both teams enjoyed spells of superiority.
While the resilient Bulls will be grateful that they have replaced New South Wales Waratahs on top thanks to a superior points difference, the Stormers will be encouraged by a massive improvement having won only one of three home games. The solid scrummaging of the Cape Town side was a revelation after being heavily criticized by Australian coach Eddie Jones following a pre-season friendly and they also nicked several line-outs on the Bulls throw.
PHOTO: EPA
The Stormers were unlucky to trail at halftime after an opening half dominated by field kicking in which recalled veteran fly-half Willem de Waal excelled as he repeatedly drove the Bulls into their half. And after a Bulls purple patch extended their lead to 14-3, the Stormers fought back with replacement hooker Deon Fourie scoring a try any back would be proud to rewind on the DVD player. Replacement fly-half Peter Grant converted to leave four points between the teams with 15 minutes to go, but neither side scored again in a thrilling finish.
“Stormers had a different game plan today and kept us in our half far more than we wanted. However, we displayed patience and I welcome our bye next week as we have a few injury problems,” Bulls captain Victor Matfield said.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care