Fullback Damian McKenzie yesterday kicked a penalty with two minutes remaining to give the Waikato Chiefs a 26-25 win over the Canterbury Crusaders in Super Rugby Aotearoa.
The Crusaders still hold a seven-point lead over the Chiefs in the championship table, but the four-time defending champions have had two losses and a narrow overtime win in their past three games, while the Chiefs, with four straight wins, are heading into the playoffs with more momentum.
In a seesaw match, the Crusaders led 25-23 after a penalty to flyhalf Richie Mo’unga in the 66th minute.
Photo: AFP
The Chiefs, who lost all of their matches last season under British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland, have found new confidence this year under caretaker Clayton McMillan.
They showed that confidence by calmly rallying to regain the lead with McKenzie’s late penalty, which capped his personal 16-point haul.
The Chiefs then won a vital turnover and a lineout in the final seconds of the match to shut out the Crusaders.
Photo: AFP
The Crusaders scored the first try of the match through center Leicester Fainga’anuku and held a 7-0 lead before McKenzie kicked three penalties to give the Chiefs a 9-7 advantage after 26 minutes.
Mo’unga kicked a penalty, then along with captain Scott Barrett created a try for fullback Will Jordan that gave the Crusaders a 17-9 halftime lead.
In a thrilling second half, center Alex Nankivell scored in the 47th minute to cut the lead to one point. The Crusaders re-established a six-point lead with a try to hooker Codie Taylor after a rolling maul in the 53rd minute.
The Chiefs enjoyed a period of dominance out of which winger Jonah Lowe scored a try to put them ahead 23-22 until Mo’unga’s penalty gave the Crusaders a short-lived lead.
While the Crusaders still lead the championship, their recent form makes them seem anything but invincible. Their regular offside play has been more heavily penalized this year and Mo’unga’s form as a playmaker has been mixed.
The Otago Highlanders were clinging to the hope of a playoffs place until Friday when they beat the Auckland Blues 35-29. They now have a much stronger role in the playoffs race.
Highlanders’ head coach Tony Brown has the leanest roster in Super Rugby Aotearoa, but has engineered wins over the Crusaders and the Blues, who started the season among the title favorites.
Under Brown, the Highlanders appear likely to become a major force in the future as they develop their young lineup.
The Blues, in contrast, are headed for another season of underachievement after losing three of their past four games. Their inability to secure a world-class coach who can draw the best from a star-studded roster has led to years of poor performances and another false dawn this season.
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
CHANCE TO QUALIFY: Both teams now have three points from two games, and Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night beat India 11-0 Taiwan yesterday defeated Vietnam 1-0 to move into second place in Group C at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with one match remaining. Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Taiwan midfielder Saki Matsunaga’s shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1981. It was a deserved victory for Taiwan, 2-0 losers to Japan on Wednesday, who created several chances to extend their lead. Vietnam, the 2022 quarter-finalist, beat India in their opener, but struggled to
RSS