The New South Wales Waratahs yesterday wore down the 14-man Highlanders for a 32-20 win to lift them from seventh to sixth place in Super Rugby Pacific, while the Auckland-based Blues on Saturday clinched first place on the ladder after beating the ACT Brumbies 21-19.
The Waratahs led 19-7 at halftime and held out a brief second half rally from the Highlanders before a late try to flyhalf Tane Edmed closed out their first win in Dunedin in 14 years.
The Waratahs found themselves under pressure in the second half, but made ground with strong one-off running and turning the Highlanders with accurate kicking.
“It was a tight contest,” Waratahs captain Jake Gordon said. “They got the first try, but we wrestled back momentum, played some pretty good footy when we got the ball and executed well when we had our chances.”
In Saturday’s match against the Brumbies, the Blues went behind 19-18 to a Billy Pollard try with only 90 seconds remaining before Beauden Barrett kicked the winning dropped goal after the fulltime siren.
“That was almost test match intensity with the young packs and see-saw nature of the game,” Barrett said. “When you come to Canberra you’re up for a hell of a fight and we certainly got that.”
The Brumbies now have taken the Blues and the Christchurch-based Crusaders close in successive matches, gaining confidence as the playoffs approach.
They were under pressure for most of the second half on Saturday, but held on through determined goal line defense. The Brumbies gave up 12 penalties and lost two players to yellow cards, but still were unbending in their defensive effort.
“We showed so much heart tonight. Our backs were against the wall through the whole game,” captain Allan Alaalatoa said. “We defended our hearts out and I just don’t feel we were getting the rub of the green. But we still managed to be up in the 79th minute.”
The Blues, with a six point lead and only one week remaining in the regular season, cannot be toppled from first place whatever the outcome of their final match against the Waratahs on Saturday.
The eight teams which will contest the playoffs mostly have been found, although the Highlanders still can be dislodged from eighth place, and might need a win over the Melbourne Rebels on Sunday to seal a quarter-final place.
The top eight teams in the 12-team tournament progress to the quarter-finals. The top four teams have home advantage in the first round of the playoffs and the top two teams will play at home as long as they stay in contention.
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