The Auckland Blues and Pretoria-based Bulls, heading in opposite directions in Super 14 rugby, play each other today in a match greatly affecting their semi-final hopes.
The Bulls have risen to fourth place on the championship table with wins in their last two matches. The Blues, competition leaders for three-quarters of the season, have lost their last two -- to the Sharks and Stormers.
A win for the Bulls at home would strengthen their claim to a home semi-final, with only one match remaining against the bottom-placed Queensland Reds, while the Blues would surrender home playoff advantage if they lose to the Bulls and to the Western Force in Perth a week later.
The Blues appeared home playoff certainties during the nine weeks they spent at the top of the table between the second and 10th rounds.
They gave up the competition lead two weeks ago to the Canterbury Crusaders and are now clinging to second place, ahead of the Sharks and Bulls who have kept up South Africa's two-pronged challenge for semi-final places.
Behind those teams the Waikato Chiefs, the Force, the ACT Brumbies and, technically, the Otago Highlanders still hold playoffs hopes, though the Force and Highlanders are dependent not only on their own form but that of other teams.
The Chiefs are level with the Bulls on 32 points, narrowly behind on points differential, and are in the middle of a rich run of form which has brought them five wins from their last six games.
The Brumbies are a point behind the Chiefs and Bulls, in sixth place with 31 points, but face the stumbling block of a match against the Crusaders tomorrow.
The Chiefs face the Crusaders in their final round-robin match, similarly complicating their playoffs run-up.
The Crusaders enjoy a four-point championship lead with two rounds remaining and seem certain to claim a home semi-final, though their finish against the Brumbies and Chiefs is not an easy one.
"The record says that playing the Brumbies in Canberra is one of the most difficult assignments in Super rugby, and that is certainly our experience," Crusaders coach Robbie Deans said. "They've got the better of us on the last couple of occasions we've been there. We're under no illusions as to how difficult the task will be on Saturday night."
The match features a clash between the Crusaders' Dan Carter and the Brumbies' Stephen Larkham, the two best flyhalves in world rugby. It will also mark the last appearance for the Brumbies in Canberra by Larkham, Wallabies scrumhalf George Gregan and hooker Jeremy Paul.
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer 04 Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha fired Barcelona into the next round as the Catalans bested SL Benfica 3-1, and Inter booked a last-eight meeting with Bayern by seeing off Feyenoord 2-1. At Anfield, Ousmane Dembele netted the only goal of the night as PSG bounced back from Liverpool’s late winner last week to force the tie to extra-time and penalties. Maligned
Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi on Wednesday inflicted a first-round defeat on former badminton world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen at the All England Open. Lin came out of top after a back-and-forth first game before Axelsen dominated the second, but the Dane was not able to keep that form in the decider as Lin reeled off six points in a row on the way to a 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 victory. “If I don’t play my best, everyone can win against me,” said Axelsen, the world No. 4. “Today’s opponent played a fantastic game; it was disappointing, but that is how it is.” “I just tried
RSS