Replacement lock Sitaleki Timani scored a last-gasp try to give the New South Wales Waratahs a 29-22 victory at the ACT Brumbies in a tough defense-oriented tussle in their Super rugby match yesterday.
The 2m tall Timani stretched out one of his long arms and planted the ball in the final minute following a succession of close attacks after Brumbies prop Ben Alexander had scored his side’s only try, which was converted by Matt Giteau, to level the game at 22-22 with less than five minutes remaining.
Fullback Kurtley Beale added five penalties and converted Timani and Ryan Cross’ tries to give him a personal tally of 19 points and help the Waratahs erase the disappointment of their 23-3 loss to the lowly Cheetahs last week in Sydney.
Photo: Reuters
Giteau, who had charged down Beale’s clearing kick that led to Alexander’s try, scored five penalties, but the Brumbies still slumped to their fourth successive loss — three of which have come since coach Andy Friend was sacked.
“It was a pretty tough week after last week’s performance, and to put ourselves into a position to win that game and come back right at the death was a big effort from the guys,” Waratahs captain Phil Waugh said.
Neither side was able to stamp any real authority on the match, with much of it played between the 22m areas as both teams’ attempts to build pressure were snuffed out by well-drilled defenses.
The first-half scoring action was restricted to four penalty goals each to Beale and Giteau, whose late penalty on the halftime hooter leveled the score at 12-12.
Giteau added his fifth penalty in the 48th minute, which had been awarded for an infringement at the breakdown, but also followed Waratahs’ inside center Tom Carter being sin-binned for kicking the ball away to prevent a quick penalty being taken.
Cross then scored his try, after a strange kick from Beale somehow found its way into space close to the line.
Beale converted from wide out, then added a penalty to give the Waratahs a 22-15 lead, before Giteau’s charge down gave the final five minutes some real excitement, which had been mostly lacking throughout the earlier 75.
“We didn’t really get a lot of possession in the second half and when we did, we left a few [scoring opportunites] out there and they were good enough at the end,” Giteau said. “The ’Tahs tend to get their points by building leads early on, so we thought if we could get into an arm wrestle with them we fancied our chances, but unluckily we didn’t get it.”
REDS 41, CHEETAHS 8
Reuters, BRISBANE, Australia
The Queensland Reds returned order to the Super rugby competition with a comfortable victory over an inconsistent Cheetahs side yesterday.
The Cheetahs, who upset the New South Wales Waratahs 23-3 in Sydney last week, had the upper hand in the scrums, but a porous defensive effort in the first 30 minutes cost them any opportunity of a second successive surprise win.
The Reds dominated possession and looked dangerous with the ball in hand, scoring six tries, but blew at least four others when players dropped the ball with the line exposed.
The Reds had secured their bonus point by halftime, using their speedy back-line coming back at angles to rip the Cheetahs’ defense apart and make huge territorial gains.
While Cheetahs flyhalf Sias Ebersohn opened the scoring with a massive penalty in the 14th minute, the Reds took control after that with first-half tries by wingers Digby Ioane and Rod Davies, who scored two, and hooker Saia Faingaa.
Davies’ first try was particularly sweet for Reds captain James Horwill, who was making his return following a month out with an ankle injury, when he produced a massive tackle that jarred the ball loose to Cooper, who counterattacked by sprinting past three forwards and put Davies clear.
Flyhalf Quade Cooper slotted three conversions and penalty to give the home side a comfortable 29-3 lead at the break.
Oddly, it took the sin-binning of captain Wilhelm Steenkamp in the 37th minute for a high tackle on Davies for the Cheetahs to shore up their defense.
They kept the Reds scoreless for 20 minutes either side of halftime, before they turned the ball over and Australia scrumhalf Will Genia exploited some woeful blindside defense to run 60m to score his side’s fifth try.
Steenkamp redeemed himself when he finished a sweeping move with 10 minutes to go, before Genia grabbed his second try from another turnover after the final hooter had sounded.
CHIEFS 13, BLUES 16
Reuters, WELLINGTON
Luke McAlister slotted a 72nd-minute long-range penalty to give the Auckland Blues a tight 16-13 victory over the Waikato Chiefs in their Super rugby match at a rain-drenched Waikato Stadium in Hamilton yesterday.
McAlister added two other penalties and a conversion of Jared Payne’s try, which he had set up with a grubber-kick, to give the Auckland-based side the lead in the New Zealand conference of the southern hemisphere competition.
Chiefs captain Liam Messam and prop Sona Taumalolo scored tries for the Chiefs, while flyhalf Mike Delany slotted a penalty.
“Conditions evened the game out and both teams played with a lot of passion, and we were lucky to come away with the points and win that game,” Blues captain Keven Mealamu said. “Playing at the right part of the field at the right time, and we did that better in the second half and were able to build pressure.”
The Chiefs used the slippery conditions to perfection in the first minute when they hacked ahead a dropped pass by winger Rene Ranger and kept chasing as Blues defenders struggled to control the ball, before Messam got the final touch and dived on the ball over the line.
The home side doubled their advantage after Lelia Masaga somehow managed to squeeze out of a tackle and sparked an attack that ended after several phases when Taumalolo burrowed over in the 22nd minute.
The Blues, who were dominating the scrums, used that superiority to set up camp on the Chiefs’ try-line for almost six minutes, winning penalty after penalty as the hosts collapsed the scrum or infringed in the tackle. However, they were unable to convert and a counter-ruck by the Chiefs after another scrum broke up alleviated the pressure and ensured they went into the break leading 10-6 after McAlister, who had slotted an earlier long-range penalty, kicked another on halftime.
The Blues seized the lead for the first time when All Blacks winger Sitiveni Sivivatu bobbled a grubber-kick from McAlister, only for Payne to toe ahead and dive on the ball just before it went out the back of the in-goal area.
McAlister converted to give the Blues a 13-10 lead. Mike Delany tied the game again with his first penalty, before McAlister’s third penalty sealed it for the visitors.
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