Emotions get better of Blues
Auckland: Tana Umaga is content to win ugly than not at all. Emotion got the better of the Blues with a muddled and messy display but Umaga was still proud his young side were able to show some fight and pay tribute to Kurtis Haiu with a 23 -18 win over the Sharks on Saturday night at Eden Park. Haiu, the former Auckland and Blues lock, died on Wednesday aged just 31 after a prolonged battle with cancer. It capped a big week for Umaga’s men as they also sought to draw inspiration from former players, specifically the 1996 team that captured the first Super Rugby title.
Kerevi tries fail to lift Reds
Pretoria: Former Fijian Under-20 centre Samu Kerevi scored a brace for the Reds but it was not enough as they went down 41-22 to the Bulls. The Bulls have chalked dominant display as they ran in five tries to three at their Loftus Versfeld fortress, and despite glimpses of fightback from the Reds, enjoyed 60 per cent of possession and more than 65 per cent of territory to assert their ascendancy. The home side eased to the win with tries through prop Marcel van der Merwe, hooker Adriaan Strauss, flank Pieter Labuschagne, wing Travis Ismaiel and scrumhalf Piet van Zyl, and led 17-8 at halftime. Kerevi scored a brace for the Reds to go with an early try for wing Chris Feauai-Sautia as they denied their hosts a bonus point. –AAP
Brumbies deal Tahs a blow
Sydney: The Brumbies may have ended the NSW Waratahs’ finals hopes with a hoodoo-busting and bruising 26-20 Super Rugby triumph in Sydney. An historic try scoring hat-trick from winger Joe Tomane helped the Brumbies skip 11 points clear of their arch rivals in the Australian conference, after securing their first win at Allianz Stadium in 14 years. While the Brumbies are sitting pretty atop the conference, the Waratahs are now languishing in 12th on the ladder after suffering three consecutive home defeats for the first time since 2007. The 2014 champions probably need to win eight of their last nine games to make the playoffs after once again being dominated at the set piece on Saturday night.- Rugby Heaven.