Sat, Mar 13, 2010 page20

• Organized Crusaders cut down Chiefs for tense win

  • AFP
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  The Canterbury Crusaders adapted best to changing conditions to beat the Waikato Chiefs 26-19 in a tense Super 14 rugby clash yesterday.

  With the wind behind them and a dry ground, the Crusaders ensured the game was played at a frenetic pace in the first half and turned with a 23-16 lead as they outscored the Chiefs two tries to one.

  When the rain came down at halftime and the Crusaders faced the wind, however, they switched to a dogged pick-and-drive style as they slugged out the final 40 minutes in which the only rewards were a penalty apiece.

  The telling difference in the match was the workrate of the Crusaders’ loose trio that featured All Blacks Richie McCaw, Kieran Read and George Whitelock.

  They dominated the fierce battle for possession at the breakdown and Read’s bullocking runs in the second half kept the weakened Chiefs backpedaling as they struggled without Liam Messam, who left the field early with a hip injury.

  Flyhalf Dan Carter was also crucial to the Crusaders performance, directing the side into wave after wave of attacks that stretched a Chiefs’ backline that boasted six All Blacks.

  The Crusaders were one All Black down in the backs, with regular halfback Andy Ellis injured, but it was his replacement Kahn Fotuali’i who delivered for the southerners with two tries.

  Both tries were just reward for his ability to always remain in support of the ball carrier. The second in particular ended a spectacular period of play that began with a Crusaders counterattack from their own line and swept up and down the field five times, before Jared Payne made the eventual telling break for Fotuali’i to finish off.

  That try put the Crusaders ahead 20-9 after 30 minutes, with the Chiefs coming back just before the break with their only try to center Richard Kahui off a barging run by backrower Colin Bourke. Chiefs flyhalf Stephen Donald, Carter’s understudy for the All Blacks, converted the try and added four penalties.

  Carter, who converted both of Fotuali’i’s tries, also landed four penalties for a personal match haul of 16 points to give him a career tally of 996 in Super rugby. It lifted him past former Crusaders pivot Andrew Merhtens into second place behind Sterling Mortlock of the Brumbies on the all-time Super points scorers list.

  It was the fourth win from five outings for the seven-times champions, while the Chiefs, who started the year with three wins on the road, have now lost two in a row at home.

  
  

  WARATAHS 73, LIONS 12
  

  REUTERS, SYDNEY

  Winger Drew Mitchell scored four tries as the New South Wales Waratahs celebrated captain Phil Waugh’s record-breaking appearance with a huge victory over the Lions in their Super 14 match in Sydney yesterday.

  Waugh made his 119th appearance for New South Wales, passing former scrumhalf Chris Whitaker’s previous mark of 118 matches.

  Mitchell also became the first New South Wales player to score four tries in a Super rugby game, while the Waratahs scored their most points in a match and exceeded their largest winning margin in the competition.

  “The guys were trying to run the ball around and the conditions were dry, which helped with the handling,” Waugh said in a televised interview. “I think the guys were excited. It’s important to get people to the game and we are aware of that so we are trying to play as entertainingly as possible and get people to the ground.”

  The Waratahs had opened a massive 33-5 lead by halftime as the Lions fell off tackles and made elementary mistakes, with Mitchell scoring two tries, while Dean Mumm, Tom Carter and Lachie Turner also crossed.

  Wallabies inside-center Berrick Barnes, who exercised a one-year contract extension with the Waratahs earlier in the week, converted four of the tries.

  Winger Tonderai Chavhanga crossed for the Lions’ only points of the half when Mitchell twice bungled a clearance close to his goal-line, only for Chavhanga to flop on the loose ball.

  The Lions lost any semblance of structure and turned the ball over constantly in the face of tough New South Wales defense in the second half, allowing Mitchell to cross for two more tries, as did replacement scrumhalf Josh Holmes.

  No. 8 Wycliff Palu also scored, before Turner added his second try of the match after the hooter had gone, while Barnes added five more conversions.
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