Waikato Chiefs coach Dave Rennie yesterday angrily denied cheating in the dying minutes of his side’s nail-biting Super Rugby win over the Wellington Hurricanes last weekend.
The Chiefs stayed top of the table after scraping to a 28-27 win, with the match going to uncontested scrums for the last five minutes after tighthead prop Siate Tokolahi was injured battling the Hurricanes dominant pack.
Hurricanes skipper Dane Coles remarked to referee Craig Joubert at the time that it was “an amazing coincidence” the injury came when the home side’s scrum was on top.
Then a New Zealand radio station posted a video on Facebook showing Tokolahi apparently running freely from a scrum and a lineout with no contact from any other player before going down injured.
Rennie, who has been touted as a possible future All Blacks coach, said Tokolahi was genuinely injured and denied his departure was a tactical move.
“I am bloody angry, because they are challenging our integrity,” he told Radio Sport. “We have got two injured tighthead props and that forced us to go down to 14 players... It happens, you do not want it to happen, but you have to deal with it.”
Under the rules of rugby, if a member of the tight five has to leave the field and a properly trained replacement is not available, then scrums are not contested as a safety measure.
“It is such a rarity. I have had 78 games in charge of the Chiefs and it is the first time we have gone to golden oldie [uncontested] scrums,” he said.
Tokolahi has been named on the bench for today’s match against the Coastal Sharks, but Rennie said that should not cast doubt on the seriousness of the injury he suffered against the Hurricanes.
“A lot of guys go off injured and front up the next week,” Rennie said.
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Shohei Ohtani on Thursday delivered his first two-homer game of the season and had six RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers poured it on with five long balls in a 19-2 victory over the visiting Athletics. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also hit home runs for the Dodgers, who left no doubt by taking a 13-2 lead following a seven-run third inning. Muncy and Kim Hye-seong each had three hits for Los Angeles. Dodgers right-hander Matt Sauer led off a bullpen game by allowing two runs in four innings. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (1-1) finished with four scoreless innings after he