Scrumhalf Brad Weber yesterday scored a try in each half to help the Waikato Chiefs to a 39-15 win over the NSW Waratahs to advance to the Super Rugby Pacific semi-finals, while the Blues crushed the Highlanders.
Weber scored a magnificent opening try in the sixth minute to begin a dominant performance by the Chiefs, who led 27-10 at halftime.
He completed his double in the 64th minute, reviving the Chiefs as they were in the middle of a scoring lull.
Photo: AFP
Backrower Luke Jacobson and center Alex Nankivell also scored in the first half, while No. 8 Pita-Gus Sowakula added to Weber’s second try to complete a five-tries-to-two win.
The Chiefs now face the Canterbury Crusaders in Christchurch in next weekend’s semi-finals. The Crusaders beat the Queensland Reds 37-15 on Friday.
The other two semi-finalists were determined when Blues beat the eighth-placed Highlanders in Auckland and the fourth-placed ACT Brumbies beat the fifth-placed Wellington Hurricanes 35-25 in Canberra.
The top-ranked Blues shook off a sluggish start to beat the Highlanders 35-6 and ensure a home semi-final, with the Brumbies to travel.
The Blues were barely able to get out of their own half in the first 20 minutes and took 31 minutes to score the first try of their quarterfinal match.
“What an awesome challenge, playing the defending champions at home,” Weber said. “We’ve beaten them once down there this season, so let’s make it two. It’s incredibly satisfying to win a home quarter-final. We haven’t had one here in my experience and I’ve been here 10 years, 110 games now.”
The Chiefs were outstanding in the physical aspects of yesterday’s game. They carried the ball powerfully, crashing into tackles and flooding the breakdown area, allowing them to quickly recycle possession.
The Waratahs lead the tournament in forcing turnovers, mostly through the work of flankers Michael Hooper and Charlie Gamble, but they were overshadowed yesterday by the Chiefs dominance at the tackle area.
The Chiefs also were physical in defense. Their crunching tackles often forced the Waratahs back behind the gain line.
While the Chiefs were clinical in attack, the Waratahs made too many errors in attacking positions.
“The Chiefs are a classy outfit and they’ve had the wood on us all year,” Waratahs captain Jake Gordon said. “They’re just really hard to contain when they get that front-foot ball and in turnover attack they’re exceptional.”
Weber’s opening try was a superb example from a set piece. The Chiefs deliberately over-threw an attacking lineout; the ball went to flyhalf Bryn Gatland who handed off a short pass to Weber and he ran through a massive hole in the Waratahs’ defense to score under the posts.
The Waratahs hit back immediately with a try to winger Dylan Pietsch, who ran onto a grubber kick from fullback Ben Donaldson, but the Chiefs touched down twice more before halftime, through Jacobson who drove through a rolling maul from a lineout and Nankivell, who capitalized on a loose pass from Waratahs’ flyhalf Tane Edmed.
The Waratahs began the second half with a try that swept almost the length of the field. They won a turnover close to their goal line, Hooper broke out and passed to backrower Will Harris who carried the ball 70m to score.
The Chiefs took 24 minutes to score their first try of the second half through Weber and Sowakula completed an emphatic win.
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
RSS