The top-ranked Wellington Hurricanes needed a 72nd-minute try to lock Jeremy Thrush to clinch a four-try bonus point and a 32-24 win over the 11th-placed Sharks yesterday, keeping the home side atop the Super Rugby table.
The Hurricanes led 14-10 at halftime, but fell behind twice in the second half after tries to Sharks wingers S’Bura Sithole and Odwa Ndungane, before Thrush’s try and another to replacement prop Reggie Goodes sealed their 10th win from 11 games.
James Marshall, who started for the first time this season in the absence of injured flyhalf Beauden Barrett, kicked two late penalties to inflate the Hurricanes’ winning margin and deny the Sharks a losing bonus point.
Photo: AFP
The Sharks scored their first try through hooker Bismarck du Plessis, and the Hurricanes’ Cory Jane and captain Conrad Smith replied in the first half.
“I was impressed with the composure,” Smith said. “We were always calm when we were behind our posts and we knew we’d worked on things right.”
“They were playing well and we knew when we got our chance we had to make the most of it. That’s the way it worked out,” he said.
The small crowd at the match included Britain’s Prince Harry, who is in New Zealand on a short official visit.
At the Perth Oval in Australia, the Western Force snapped a 10-match losing streak, upsetting defending Super Rugby champions the New South Wales Waratahs 18-11.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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
Playing soccer and competing for trophies is the best way that many transplanted Hong Kongers and Macanese have found to stay in touch, and to interact with Taiwanese society, said officials at the Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau Football Friendship Cup, which was held on April 13. Twelve clubs, mostly of players and coaches originally from Hong Kong and Macau, took part in the tournament in New Taipei City. The event is sponsored by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council. Participating teams were from the wider Taipei area, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung and other areas. They divided into two