The Cheetahs stunned the New South Wales Waratahs 23-3 yesterday to win their first match outside South Africa in more than five years of Super rugby.
The Bloemfontein-based Cheetahs, winless and bottom of the standings before the match, sealed the upset through second-half tries from Phillip Snyman and Sarel Pretorius.
It was magnificent defense and dominance of the breakdown that laid the groundwork for the win, blunting the Waratahs’ much-vaunted attack and disrupting any momentum the home side generated.
Photo: AFP
“We’re absolutely delighted, the guys knew it would take a special effort to get our first win overseas,” Cheetahs lock Wilhelm Steenkamp said. “We spent a lot of time analyzing their game and we got the result of it.”
Already without regular skipper Phil Waugh and hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau, the Waratahs lost Wallaby prop Benn Robinson and returning No. 8 Wycliff Palu in the first half.
Poor handling in greasy conditions, a malfunctioning lineout and a bloodless effort at the breakdown added to their woes and they were booed off the pitch after what was a humiliating reverse for a team with title ambitions.
Photo: AFP
“We just didn’t perform basically, it’s disappointing obviously,” stand-in Waratahs captain Dean Mumm said. “All credit to their defense, they didn’t allow us to play the way we wanted to. They fronted up very well and we didn’t respond.”
Center Sias Ebersohn kicked two penalties to one from Wallaby fullback Kurtley Beale to give the Cheetahs a 6-3 halftime lead and he added another five minutes into the second half to extend the advantage.
The Waratahs still looked to have plenty of time to get back into the game, when flyhalf Berrick Barnes kicked the ball across the field toward winger Drew Mitchell in the 58th minute. The ball was intercepted by Cheetahs fullback Frans Viljoen, who flicked the ball to Pretorius and the scrumhalf set off down the touchline before feeding Snyman, who outpaced the cover defense to touch down, Ebersohn adding the extra two points.
Again, the Waratahs tried to rally, but the mistakes continued and their hopes had all but vanished when scrumhalf Pretorius reached through a pile of bodies to secure the victory two minutes before the whistle.
“We can be very proud of how we played, we fought until the end,” said Springbok flanker Heinrich Brussow, who had an outstanding match in his first start since returning from a year out injured.
BLUES 41, HURRICANES 17
REUTERS, WELLINGTON
The Auckland Blues ran in three tries in the last 14 minutes to win a hard-fought New Zealand Super rugby derby against the Wellington Hurricanes at Eden Park yesterday.
Hurricanes skipper Andrew Hore, one of three players celebrating his 100th Super rugby match, was sent to the sin bin after 64 minutes and the Blues scored two tries in his absence to turn a tight contest into a comfortable home win.
“We fought our way back into it and the captain gets sin-binned at the end, and they got away on us, it will be hard to hold my head up,” Hore said in a touchline interview.
Rampaging winger Rene Ranger and standoff Stephen Brett gave the Blues a flying start with two tries in the first 20 minutes, while replacement back Lachie Munro, scrumhalf Alby Mathewson and center Jared Payne sealed the victory in the final quarter.
The Hurricanes, who scored their only try from close-range through prop Neemia Tialata in the first half, had looked in with a chance of coming from behind until Hore got his yellow card for using his hands to disrupt Blues’ ball at a ruck.
Munro skipped over the line two minutes later after being released by a clever pass from Brett and Mathewson’s opportunistic effort just before Hore’s return added to the experienced hooker’s misery.
Payne ghosted through two minutes from time to ensure it would be All Black prop Tony Woodcock and not Hore and his teammate Ma’a Nonu who would have the best memories of his 100th game in the southern hemisphere’s provincial championship.
“We really wanted to celebrate a hundred games for Woody and what a way to do it,” Blues skipper Keven Mealamu said. “We had some tough times in the middle there, but we really stuck to our guns and got the bonus point in the end.”
Hurricanes flyhalf Daniel Kirkpatrick also had some moments to forget, slotting his first three penalties, but then missing three in row, before rediscovering his touch to kick a fifth.
Blues center Luke McAlister kicked two penalties and two conversions, before Munro came on to convert all of the three late tries to further conflate a flattering scoreline for the three-time champions.
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