New South Wales and the ACT Brumbies share first place after two rounds of the Super 12 rugby union tournament while New Zealand sides lost three matches Saturday, two of them in South Africa.
Mat Rogers scored a try and kicked eight goals Saturday as New South Wales beat the Sharks 48-14. The Brumbies, who had a first-round upset over defending champion Auckland last week, thrashed the Cats 68-28 in Canberra on Friday night.
The Queensland Reds recovered from a humbling opening loss last week to Otago and overcame New Zealand side Waikato 39-25 at Ballymore on Saturday. Steve Kefu shrugged off a drug investigation last week to score two tries in the opening 10 minutes.
PHOTO: AP
In matches in South Africa, the Bulls beat Wellington 40-19 in Pretoria and the Stormers defeated Otago 46-25 in Cape Town.
On Friday, Auckland recovered from its opening loss to edge Canterbury 38-29 in a replay of last year's grand final. The Crusaders, who won three titles in four seasons and lost the 2003 decider to Auckland, are winless after two rounds.
New South Wales got a bonus-point win over the Sharks to join the Brumbies on 10 competition points despite conceding the first try Saturday when former Scotland international Gregor Townsend stripped the ball from Lote Tuqiri and scooted over from close range.
The Waratahs, who upset Canterbury at Christchurch in the first round, responded with two penalties from fullback Rogers and a try to rookie flyhalf Tim Donnelly.
Rogers landed the sideline conversion and, after a glaring fumble and missing a long-range shot at goal, created the Waratahs' second try for Milton Thaiday on the half hour. He added the extras and then crossed himself, beating four tacklers to touch down beside the posts. His conversion gave the hosts a 27-7 lead at half time.
In Brisbane, Kefu overcame the after-effects of a rare facial paralysis and a doping investigation as Queensland raced to a 12-3 lead over Waikato, which upset Wellington in the first round.
Kefu contracted Bell's Palsy in New Zealand last week and sat out the lopsided first-round loss to Otago.
To treat the illness, doctors in New Zealand gave him a drug that features on the International Rugby Board's list of banned substances. But he was cleared of a doping offense after an Australian Rugby Union investigation.
Kefu contributed to the Chief's first try, throwing an ill-directed pass that Glenn Jackson intercepted to score and convert and bring the New Zealanders back within two points. But Australian vice-captain Elton Flatley landed two penalties to give the Queenslanders an 18-10 lead at half time.
The Chiefs rallied to level at 18-all in the second half before Flatley put fullback Chris Latham over in the 63rd minute as the Reds regained the advantage.
IN-HOUSE BUSINESS: LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said that the reason for the team’s poor form was not due to Paul, but the player was not a good fit for them Chris Paul’s return stint with the Los Angeles Clippers has come to an abrupt and stunning end, with the franchise parting ways with one of its greatest players in a late-night meeting on Wednesday that adds another layer of drama to the team’s terrible start this season. The news was delivered in a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, that ended at about 2am, Clippers basketball operations president Lawrence Frank said. Frank said he made the decision to sever ties with Paul on Sunday then told the franchise’s career assist leader that he needed to see him on Tuesday in Atlanta. Frank did not confirm
Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday scored twice and had an assist as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 to end a three-match winless streak in La Liga. Eduardo Camavinga also found the net for Madrid as they moved back within one point of Barcelona, who beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 on Tuesday. Both 19th-round matches were moved forward because Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid are to play in the Supercopa de Espana semi-finals in Saudi Arabia next month. Real Madrid were coming off league draws against Girona, Elche and Rayo Vallecano. It was their second win in their past six matches in
There was another win for Arsenal in the Premier League on Wednesday, but more misery for Liverpool and their under-fire manager, Arne Slot. While Arsenal accelerated their title charge with a 2-0 victory over Brentford to regain a five-point lead, Liverpool needed a late own-goal just to salvage a 1-1 draw with Sunderland AFC at Anfield. Slot is back under pressure, with his team languishing in eighth place in a disappointing title defense and his decision to leave star forward Mohamed Salah out of the starting lineup for a second straight game likely to be heavily scrutinized. “It’s clear that teams that play
The Olympic flame for the Milan Cortina Winter Games landed in Rome on Thursday following a handover in Greece. The flame was carried in a small lantern aboard an ITA Airways flight between the Greek and Italian capitals. Tennis player Jasmine Paolini — an Olympic gold medalist — and local organizing committee president Giovanni Malago carried the flame off the plane. “I feel honored. It’s an incredible emotion,” Paolini said in brief remarks before the lantern was driven away toward the presidential palace. A 63-day torch relay covering 12,000km is to start in Rome today and wind its way through all 110 Italian provinces
RSS