The Auckland Blues scored a pair of tries in each half and held off a dogged Cheetahs fightback for a 29-22 home win in their Super Rugby match in Whangarei yesterday.
Sparked by a brace from live-wire scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius, the Cheetahs pulled within a converted try with two minutes to play, but the Blues snuffed out the late push with a penalty-kick over the touchline to notch their fifth win from seven games in the southern hemisphere provincial competition.
“We’re happy to take the five [points],” Blues skipper Keven Mealamu said. “They’re a bloody good side, the Cheetahs. “We’ve still a lot to work on ... performance-wise, we could lift a couple of notches.”
Photo: Reuters
The Blues dominated possession in a fast-paced first half under a cloudless sky at Toll Stadium and were denied a first try in the fifth minute by flanker Kabamba Floors, who dragged No. 8 Peter Saili into touch before he could plant the ball in the right corner.
A streaming Stephen Brett set up the first points, stepping between two defenders, before dishing wide to winger Joe Rokocoko to scamper over near the left corner in the 19th minute for the first score of the match.
A smart one-two between Brett and Luke McAlister three minutes before the break resulted in the Blues’ second try, the flyhalf charging over after receiving back from the fleet-footed center.
Sias Ebersohn slotted a penalty on the stroke of halftime to give the Cheetahs their first score, but the Bloemfontein-based side went into the break trailing 14-3.
Saili barged over near the posts 15 minutes after the break to put the Blues 22-3 up, before Pretorius inspired the Cheetahs with two tries in seven minutes.
The speedy scrumhalf received a pass inside from Robert Ebersohn in the right corner in the 60th minute, before launching himself over a pile of players, then grabbed his second with a quick tap in the left corner.
Blues fullback Isaia Toeava stopped the rot by bursting through a clutch of defenders to cross in the 74th minute, but the Cheetahs came again when prop Coenie Oosthuisen rammed through under the posts in the 79th minute to set up a tense finish.
The Cheetahs’ unlikely bid for a match-tying converted try ended abruptly with a penalty deep in defense, but captain Wilhelm Steenkamp was philosophical about the Cheetahs’ sixth defeat in seven games this season.
“It’s never easy on tour, but the guys showed a lot of guts today ... I’m proud of the guys, they fought to the end,” Steenkamp said.
? BULLS 26, HURRICANES 14
Reuters, WELLINGTON
The Bulls put their Super Rugby title defense firmly back on track with a hard-fought win over the Wellington Hurricanes in Napier yesterday.
A late try from winger Francois Hougaard and a 21-point kicking masterclass from flyhalf Morne Steyne proved the difference as the Bulls took a 15-3 halftime lead and defended stoutly after the break at McLean Stadium.
“I’m very happy about the win tonight,” Bulls skipper Victor Matfield said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be a nice open game, we had to grind it out and we did it well.”
The win was the Bulls’ fourth from six games, while the struggling Hurricanes suffered their fourth loss.
Laser-sharp Steyn scored all of the Bulls’ points in the first half, kicking a drop-goal from 30m on a slight angle and repeating the feat from almost exactly the same position 10 minutes later to the derision of spectators.
The flyhalf’s opposite number, Daniel Kirkpatrick, finally put his team on the board with a penalty-kick four minutes before halftime.
The home side moved up a gear after the break and were rewarded after five minutes of sustained pressure when flanker Serge Lilo stormed across after receiving a quick ball out of a ruck on the try-line from scrumhalf Chris Eaton.
Kirkpatrick missed the conversion, but kicked his second penalty goal in the 60th minute to put the Hurricanes within four points.
Steyn restored the Bulls’ cushion to seven points with his fourth penalty and they defended grimly as the Hurricanes launched wave after wave of attacks.
Matfield was heroic on the try-line, burrowing under a pack to prevent winger Hosea Gear from touching down in the 69th minute, before Hougaard struck the decisive blow three minutes later.
Center Wynand Olivier burst through two defenders, before dishing off to the charging Hougaard, who crossed near the left corner to put the Bulls up 23-14 with eight minutes left.
The late try appeared to break the Hurricanes’ spirits, while Steyn’s fifth penalty minutes later ensured there would be no last-gasp push for victory.
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