Billy Guyton came off the bench to become a key figure for the Auckland Blues in a 34-18 Super Rugby victory over the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
The scrumhalf scored the New Zealanders’ fourth try 10 minutes from time to turn a narrow lead into a 11-point advantage that the South Africans never seriously threatened to overtake.
Guyton turned creator in the fifth minute of stoppage-time with a clever pass to winger Tevita Li, who darted to the line for a try that earned the Blues a bonus point.
Photo: EPA
It was the third win in a row for the Auckland outfit coached by former All Blacks skipper Tana Umaga and kept alive their hopes of top-five finish in Australasia and a quarter-finals spot.
“It was not pretty, but we will take the five points and move on,” Blues hooker and skipper James Parsons said.
“We were much better than last weekend,” said Kings lock and skipper Steven Sykes, referring to a 73-27 mauling by the Jaguares in Buenos Aires.
While the Blues can chase a knockout place, the Kings prop up the Africa 2 standings, 23 points below fellow South African side the Golden Lions after just one win in nine outings.
In Durban, Rugby World Cup winner J.P. Pietersen scored his first tries this season for the Coastal Sharks as they shocked the Wellington Hurricanes 32-15 in a lively match.
Springboks winger Pietersen dotted down just before halftime to level the scores at 8-8 and four minutes into the second half to give the South African side a seven-point advantage.
Tries from scrumhalf Michael Claassens and loose forward Daniel du Preez helped stretch the lead to 24 points, before a late James Marshall try for the New Zealanders made the scoreline less lopsided.
A successful first appearance of the season for Springboks flyhalf Patrick Lambie off the bench completed a near-perfect day for the Sharks at Kings Park Stadium.
The only disappointment for a hosts was that conceding the late Marshall try meant forfeiting a bonus point.
There are three quarter-finals places up for grabs from the two Africa conferences and the Sharks lie fourth, two points behind fellow South Africans the Northern Bulls.
The Hurricanes are fourth in the New Zealand conference, but on course to fill one of five places reserved for Australasian teams.
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