Crusaders go top with stunning comeback
Sunwolves charge to rare win
TOKYO, May 12, (AFP): The Canterbury Crusaders produced a stunning fightback to regain the Super Rugby lead with a 31-29 win over the NSW Waratahs, while the Sunwolves thrashed the Queensland Reds 63-28 to record their first win on Saturday.
The Otago Highlanders, meanwhile, cemented their hold on third place in the New Zealand conference when Lima Sopoaga kicked them home 39-27 over South African leaders Golden Lions and the Melbourne Rebels closed the gap on the Waratahs with a comeback 27-24 win over the ACT Brumbies.
The Crusaders conceded 29 points to the Waratahs inside the first half hour of the clash between the top New Zealand and Australian sides.
But once they worked out how to cut Israel Folau out of the game they produced five tries and 31 unanswered points to snatch a narrow victory and move one point ahead of the Wellington Hurricanes on the ladder.
Folau was exceptional for the Waratahs in the opening stages and scored two of their first four tries.
But once the defending champions switched their game plan to starve Folau of possession they came back with three tries in the closing eight minutes of the first half.
They added two more in the second spell while the Waratahs were punished for ill-discipline and spent nearly 20 minutes down a man with Nick Phipps and Taqele Naiyaravoro serving time in the sin bin.
Crusaders captain Sam Whitelock said it was obvious their opening game plan did not work but they were not panicked by the Waratahs’ strong start.
“We gave them the ball back early and they really punished us because of it. Once we chopped that it started to turn in our favour,” Whitelock said.
“But we were nice and calm out there. We stuck to what we knew would work and came over the top at the end.
Waratahs captain Michael Hooper blamed poor discipline which “hurt us. Two yellow cards. It’s hard to beat these guys with 14 men”.
The Crusaders, who have not lost at home to the Waratahs since 2004, extended New Zealand’s winning streak over Australia to 39 matches.
While they celebrated their ongoing dominance and their ninth win from 11 matches, Japan’s Sunwolves were celebrating their first win of the season and only their fourth since joining the competition three years ago.
Hosea “Tongan Godzilla” Saumaki scored a hattrick of tries while flyhalf Hayden Parker had a perfect day off the tee with 12 from 12 for 36 points in Tokyo as they thrashed the Reds by a 35-point margin.
“You have to take the good with the bad, and we have had our fair share of bad,” admitted Sunwolves coach Jamie Joseph after the Tokyo-based team racked up their highest-ever points total and first victory against Australian opposition.
“For me, as the coach of this team, this result wasn’t a surprise.
After losing the first nine matches of the year, there was little hint of what was to follow when the Sunwolves trailed 14-9 after 20 minutes.
But a try by giant lock Grant Hattingh swung the momentum and by half-time the Sunwolves were up 29-14 before Saumaki’s second-half rampage set up the historic victory that had loyal Sunwolves fans weeping with joy.