Sharks put an end to Crusaders’ dominance in Christchurch

THE Sharks are the team to beat in this year’s Super Rugby contest after a gutsy history-making win in New Zealand to go five points clear over the weekend.

The South African pacesetters beat the seven-time champions Crusaders 30-25 for the first time in Christchurch in the 18 years of Super Rugby.

Jake White’s team did it with 14 men for 65 minutes and outscored the Crusaders three tries to one in a courageous performance on Saturday.

The Durban-based Sharks are five points clear of the ACT Brumbies and defending champions the Chiefs, who had a bye this weekend.

The Brumbies went down 27-21 to the lowly Cheetahs in Bloemfontein this weekend, emerging with a losing bonus point to shade the Chiefs on points differential in second spot.

The Waratahs moved to outright fourth and one point behind the Brumbies in the Australian conference with a 41-13 bonuspoint win over South Africa’s Lions in Sydney on Sunday.

The Highlanders are fifth outright, and a point behind the Chiefs in the New Zealand conference, after a see-sawing 18-16 derby win over the Hurricanes in Wellington on Friday.

Australia’s Force slipped to seventh overall following a 24-8 defeat to the struggling Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday.

Queensland Reds, the champions three years ago, slumped to the bottom of the standings after a 30-27 loss at home on Saturday to the Rebels.

The Sharks were jubilant at the fulltime whistle after defying the odds to down the in-form Crusaders, coming off five straight wins.

It was their first win in Christchurch and also the first time any South African side has won away to the Crusaders since 2001.

The Sharks were undermanned for 64 minutes after Jean Deysel was red-carded and sank to 13 men for 10 minutes when Willem Alberts was sent to the sinbin. Despite the disciplinary lapses they overcame their numerical disadvantage in a tense clash that saw the lead switch seven times.

The winning points came from a try to replacement hooker Kyle Cooper with five minutes remaining.

The Sharks’ next match is against 10th placed Blues on Friday.

In Bloemfontein, flyhalf Johan Goosen was the 22-point star as the Cheetahs upset the Brumbies Saturday.

Springbok Goosen scored a try and kicked a conversion, four penalties and a drop-goal for a 121-point season tally.

Apart from the Chiefs, the Blues and Bulls also had weekend byes. — AFP