Sunwolves score historic victory
● The Sunwolves scored the most significant win of their brief Super Rugby life when a Gerhard van den Heever try sealed a historic 30-15 victory over the Waikato Chiefs in Hamilton yesterday.
In Brisbane loose forwards Whetu Douglas and Jordan Taufua crossed over as the Canterbury Crusaders pack took control of the game in the second half to record a 2212 win over the Queensland Reds.
It is the first time the Tokyo-based Sunwolves have won an away game and it left the 2012-2013 champions embarrassed as they remain winless after three rounds.
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 and their future in the competition in doubt.
But they showed signs of progress when they went within a point of upsetting the NSW Waratahs last weekend, and against the Chiefs they stepped up another gear.
They led 23-3 at halftime and held on as the Chiefs tried to rally in the second half.
Sunwolves flyhalf Hayden Parker, who converted all three tries and added three penalties, described the victory as “awesome” and a confidence booster for the side.
“It was really nice to score some good tries in the first half. The second half was pretty ugly and it felt like the game went on forever but the boys hung in and I’m proud of the way we stuck it out to the end.”
Chiefs scrumhalf Brad Weber said his under-pressure side could not expect to win with the number of errors they committed.
The Crusaders should have won by a much bigger margin given the amount of possession and attacking opportunities they had, but All Blacks flyhalf Richie Mo’unga was strangely off key and struggled to stamp any authority on the game.
The visitors, who destroyed the Wellington Hurricanes last week with a fast start, repeated the intent as they stretched the Reds by getting quick ball at the breakdown.
Their first-half scoring, however, was restricted to tries to Ennor and Jordan inside the first 10 minutes.
The fullback’s five-pointer was the most spectacular as it came from the restart after Ennor’s seventh-minute try.
They flung the ball wide and when Hamish Stewart misread a tackle on Jack Goodhue, the centre was able to free Jordan, who ran 40m before he fed Ennor and then stayed in support to take the return pass and score his first Super Rugby try.
The home side slowly got back into the game and Kerevi was able to put his side on the board after a series of thrusts close to the line opened up space for him to crash over.
The Crusaders forwards went up a gear in the second half and with captain Matt Todd sensing they had the Reds under pressure, eschewed kickable penalties and went for tries. — Reuters and AFP