Stunning victory for Sunwolves
The Sunwolves pulled off the biggest upset of their brief Super Rugby life with a historic 30-15 victory over the Waikato Chiefs on Saturday as the dominant Canterbury Crusaders continued their relentless unbeaten march.
It is the first time the Tokyobased unit have won an away game and it left the Chiefs embarrassed as they remain winless after three rounds.
In Brisbane, defending champions the Crusaders powered to their 18th consecutive victory with a hard-fought 2212 win over the Queensland Reds despite All Blacks Kieran Read, Sam Whitelock, Ryan Crotty and Codie Taylor being rested.
A year ago, the Chiefs thrashed the Sunwolves 61-10 as the Japanese side went through their first three seasons of Super Rugby with a woeful record.
But they showed signs of progress when they went within a point of upsetting the NSW Waratahs a week ago.
Against the Chiefs they stepped up another gear. They led 23-3 at halftime and held on as the Chiefs tried to rally.
Sunwolves flyhalf Hayden Parker, who converted all three tries and added three penalties, described the win as awesome and a confidence-booster.
Flanker Shuhei Matsuhashi and lock Uwe Helu scored tries as the Sunwolves dominated the first half.
The Chiefs’ sole points in the opening stanza came from a Damian McKenzie penalty.
He also set up their first try at the start of the second half with a chip kick for Alex Nankivell to run on to.
But despite dominating possession and territory, they could not sustain the pressure and weak defence saw Gerhard van den Heever score a third try for the Sunwolves before Etene Nanai-Seturo added a late one for the Chiefs.
In Brisbane, the Crusaders were a class above the Reds.
“Defensively we were pretty good and we scrambled well and were able to force some turnovers from the pressure,“Crusaders skipper Matt Todd said.
Reds captain Samu Kerevi admitted the Crusaders deserved the win, saying: “We just didn’t finish our plays and hold onto the ball.”
The Reds have now lost their opening two games, with their night further soured by highly rated young fullback Jordan Petaia hobbling off with a foot injury after 15 minutes.