The Canterbury Crusaders went to the top of the Super Rugby table after a 49-14 bonus-point win over the Sunwolves in Brisbane, Australia, yesterday.
The Crusaders scored seven tries to two to move to 23 points, one ahead of fellow New Zealand outfit the Auckland Blues.
The Sunwolves, who could well have been playing their last ever Super Rugby match because of uncertainty over the competition’s future due to the COVID-19 pandemic, were much improved on previous weeks and were within a converted try midway through the second half trailing 21-14.
Photo: AFP
However, the Crusaders stamped their authority on the match, running in four converted tries in the final 20 minutes.
Canterbury, who rested a host of All Blacks for the match, led 14-7 at halftime and then scored immediately after the break when lock Luke Romano crashed over.
Sunwolves flyhalf Garth April struck back with a brilliant solo try under the posts to narrow the gap, but despite losing replacement hooker Hugh Roach to a red card in the 66th minute and Sevu Reece to a yellow two minutes later, the Crusaders had too much class for their Japan-based rivals.
Photo: AFP
“It was a little bit touch and go there for a bit,” Canterbury captain Bryn Hall said.
“It just comes back to the enthusiasm and experience in the side — down to 13 men in the second half — it just shows the resilience and character we have in our group,” he said.
Later in Australia, the Queensland Reds beat the South Africa-based Bulls 41-17.
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
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,
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
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
RSS