Crusaders in the clear for a home semi-final
THE Crusaders maintained their perfect record with a 31-24 win over the Chiefs in Suva on Friday to all but secure top spot at the end of the regular season.
Heiden Bedwell-Curtis, David Havili and Ben Funnell scored for the former champions to open up an 11-point gap over the Chiefs at the top of the table after recording their twelfth win of the campaign.
It should guarantee home advantage all the way to the final and head coach Scott Robertson said: “We know how important it is to finish top, we learnt that lesson last year.
“You have to win these clutch games to make sure you get every opportunity to play in front of your people. We’ve got the Highlanders at home and the Hurricanes away before the end of the competition, so we’ve still got a bit to go.
“We’re fit, very, very fit. The fittest we have been for a long, long time and that edge makes a big difference to the momentum of games.”
The Chiefs, who led 17-13 at the break, outscored the Crusaders with four brilliant tries through Tim Nanai-Williams, James Lowe, Kane Hames and Aaron Cruden, but their poor discipline, especially in the second half, handed Crusaders fly-half Richie Mo’unga the opportunity to slot four penalties alongside his two conversions.
The Chiefs’ defeat allowed the Hurricanes to come back level on 43 points in the table following their 61-7 demolition of the Cheetahs yesterday morning.
The record-breaking win saw the reigning champions cross for nine tries with Vince Iso helping himself to a hat-trick.
The Stormers put a horror tour of New Zealand behind them with a 30-22 victory over the Blues in Cape Town.
Trailing by nine points early in the second half, the South Africans, who recently conceded 155 points in drubbings by Crusaders, Highlanders and Hurricanes, finished strongly and were helped by the red-carding of Matt Duffie on 67 minutes for a second yellow card.
The Blues led 22-20 at that point after tries from George Moala, James Parsons and Blake Gibson but the hosts made the best of the one-man advantage with a try from replacement forward Sikhumbuzo Notshe and a conversion and penalty from Marais.
The Highlanders ran six tries past the Western
Force, putting the Perthbased side to the sword in a 55-6 away victory.
After a tight-knit first half, the Kiwi side grabbed six tries in the second 40 minutes while nilling the Force as they made it three wins on the road.
Loosehead prop Aki Seiulias got a double including a neat interception near the Force’s try line while centre Rob
Thompson also got two.
After four away defeats in a row, the Sunwolves ‘home’ surroundings of the Singapore National Stadium provided little comfort in a 38-17 defeat at the hands of wildcard-chasing Sharks.
A hat-trick by Sharks fullback Lwazi Mvovo, who grabbed two as part of three scores in the final six minutes, put a lot of gloss in what was a tight game until the final 20 minutes.
The Japanese side were 21-7 down at half time but pulled it back to 21-17 in the 62nd minute only for their defence to fall apart in the latter stages.
The Lions made it ten wins on the trot as they dealt out a seven try 51-14 hammering of the Bulls in the Gauteng province derby.
A try by Lions wing Ruan Combrinck in the first minute set the tone in a dominant performance to keep them atop the Africa 2 Conference.
Combrinck’s second made it 39-14 at half time before the Bulls were nilled in the second 40.
The Southern Kings failed to make it four wins in a row after a gutsy display from the Brumbies saw them fight back for a 19-10 win, ending a four match losing-streak thanks to two tries in seven minutes from Aiden Toua and Tom Banks.