Israel Dagg made a triumphant return to Super Rugby as the Canterbury Crusaders downed the Jaguares 32-15 in Christchurch yesterday, while across the Tasman Sea, the Wellington Hurricanes dispatched the Melbourne Rebels 38-13.
The 49-Test fullback scored a brace as the Crusaders ran in five tries to two for a bonus-point win that maintains the pressure in a tight New Zealand conference.
It was the sixth win on the trot for the seven-time champions and Dagg provided the impetus as the Crusaders raced to a 22-3 halftime lead, scoring one try and setting up another.
Photo: AFP
He followed up with a spectacular solo effort after the break to end hopes of a Jaguares revival, brushing off two defenders as he raced to the line.
The 27-year-old, discarded for last year’s World Cup then sidelined with a shoulder injury, is a contender for an international recall if he can maintain such blistering form.
It was the sixth defeat in a row for the Argentina-based side, even though they were nearly at full strength after squad rotations, leaving them with a single win so far in their debut season.
“We had a bad game, especially in the first half, but it’s part of our learning curve,” Jaguares assistant coach Felipe Contepomi said. “The Crusaders are one of the best teams in the competition and we made a lot of unforced errors.”
Andy Ellis scored the opening try, touching down after Dagg slipped him a pass.
The Crusaders then ran away with the match, notching two tries while Jaguares fullback Joaquin Tuculet was in the sinbin for slowing down play.
Dagg took advantage of the extra space for his first five-pointer, then Richie Mo’unga stripped the ball from Jeronimo de la Fuente for another to make it 19-3.
Facundo Isa clawed one back for the visitors after the restart, darting from the back of a maul then powering past Ellis.
The Crusaders restored their dominance with tries to Kieran Read and Dagg, although Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias crossed for a late consolation try.
In Melbourne, Australia, the Hurricanes scored six tries to two to brush aside the Rebels.
The win put them provisionally third on the overall table, with the Crusaders in second and the Waikato Chiefs in first.
The Otago Highlanders were fifth, while the Auckland Blues were the lowest-placed New Zealand side in 11th in the 18-team competition.
Additional reporting by staff writer
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite