The Queensland Reds caused one of the biggest upsets of the Super 14 when they downed the previously unbeaten Natal Sharks 25-13 yesterday.
The Reds, who have been hit hard by injuries this season, were forced to field a team of unknowns against a Springbok-laden side that many people have tipped to take home the Super 14 this year.
But the home side were far too committed for the visiting Sharks, scoring three tries to one in a highly entertaining game of running rugby.
PHOTO: AP
The Reds stunned the Sharks as they came out running, crossing for two tries in the first half and leading 18-6 at the break.
The Sharks came back at them in the second half and got to within six points, but they never really looked like winning and the Reds fully deserved the victory.
In Wellington, Lelia Masaga’s brilliant individual try sealed a 14-10 win for the Waikato Chiefs over the Otago Highlanders in a tight match.
Masaga beat four defenders as he charged down the touchline to put the visitors in front for the first time, 14 minutes from the end of the all-New Zealand clash at Invercargill.
“Looking on the positive side of things, we got the win,” Chiefs captain Mils Muliaina said in an interview. “We were lucky to get four points out of it because it was a pretty ugly game.”
In Christchurch, New Zealand, the Western Force clawed their way back from a seemingly hopeless position to earn a 23-23 draw with the once unbeatable Canterbury Crusaders.
The Australians looked to be down and out after conceding tries to Ryan Crotty, Tim Bateman and Isaac Ross in the first half an hour to trail 20-6 at halftime.
But the Crusaders, no longer the side that dominated the competition for the past decade, failed to hold on to their lead and ended the match defending grimly, relieved to have escaped with a draw in a match they would normally have won.
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