The Northern Bulls repulsed a ferocious assault by the New South Wales Waratahs to win a 10-try Super 14 thriller 48-38 at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
The Waratahs shocked the Bulls with a ferocious, fast-paced assault in the opening 10 minutes, taking a 17-0 lead and they were 26-17 ahead at halftime, before the defending champions stormed back.
“They came at us firing, but luckily the guys kept their heads,” Bulls captain Victor Matfield said. “Our fitness came through in the end and I think also the altitude helped us a little bit.”
PHOTO: EPA
Waratahs captain Phil Waugh said a 17-point lead was never likely to be a safe cushion.
“The way the rules are and the way the game is going these days a lot of points are scored,” he said. “They came back well just before halftime and came out very well after halftime, and scored some good points against us.”
The Bulls went to the top of the table with a perfect record of three wins, adding a bonus point for the third time when they scored the fourth of their six tries. The Waratahs went away with a bonus point for scoring four tries.
The Australian side attacked from the kick-off and opened the score in the third minute when hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau crashed over. Six minutes later, scrumhalf Luke Burgess switched play superbly with a flick pass to flanker Ben Mowen, who scored near the corner.
Barnes converted both tries and kicked a penalty goal.
The Bulls hit back strongly and scored through left wing Francois Hougaard in the 15th minute.
With Barnes landing two more penalties and a 40m drop-goal, the Waratahs led 26-10 with less than half an hour played, forcing the Bulls to change tactics when they were awarded two penalties.
Instead of points machine Morne Steyn kicking for goal, they first kicked for touch, then took a tap-kick when the Australians were penalized again.
Bulls pressure eventually brought a converted try by center Stephan Dippenaar to reduce the Waratahs lead to 26-17 at halftime.
It seemed business as usual at the start of the second half when the Bulls took the lead through a Steyn penalty and a second try by Hougaard, which was converted from the touchline by Steyn.
Although the Bulls scored three more tries, however, the Waratahs never gave up and scored two more tries themselves.
■OTAGO 31, CHEETAHS 24
AFP, BLOEMFONTEIN
The Otago Highlanders gained their first win of the season, beating the Central Cheetahs 31-24 at the Free State Stadium on Saturday.
The Highlanders were good value for their win in a hard-fought contest between two of the competition’s struggling teams — the New Zealanders always looked superior when they had the ball in hand.
The Cheetahs, seeking to win two matches in a row for the first time since they became a separate franchise, took an early lead through a penalty goal, but trailed for the rest of the match. The home team stayed in contention, however, with solid forward play and committed defense.
The Highlanders led 15-9 lead at halftime, scoring two tries, while the Cheetahs replied with three penalty goals by flyhalf Naas Olivier. The home side were awarded seven penalties to two during the first period, but the penalty count was even after the break.
The first try after seven minutes came after a well-worked move, with the Highlanders building up patiently, before flyhalf Michael Hobbs made a half-break and offloaded to hooker Jason Rutledge, who in turn fed prop Clint Newland. Center Kenny Lynn ran into space and romped over after receiving from Newland.
There was an element of luck about the second try, however.
Cheetahs hooker Adriaan Strauss was tackled about 10m in from touch and as the forwards gathered to contest the ball, it popped out and was picked up by an unmarked Fetu’u Vainikolo. The left wing was able to run 65m to score.
The Cheetahs came back strongly in the second half, getting to within two points midway through the second period after flanker Heinrich Brussow bullocked over for a converted try.
The New Zealand team hit back, however, and scored an excellent try through flyhalf Michael Hobbs after slick inter-passing with center Jason Shoemark eight minutes from time.
At that point the Highlanders were 12 points ahead, but the Cheetahs scored again through flanker Juan Smith.
Both the Cheetahs tries needed confirmation from the television match official as the scorers barged through a melee of opponents.
The Highlanders, who finished 11th last season, while the Cheetahs were in last place, almost scored a bonus-point try in the last minute as their forwards mauled furiously near the Cheetahs line. Television evidence was inconclusive.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS