Chiefs come back to bounce Bulls

Updated May 25, 2012 20:13:02

The Chiefs attacked with abandon in the second half to fell the visiting Bulls 28-22 in Hamilton on Friday and reclaim top spot in the Super Rugby standings.

Fired by slick passing from fly half Aaron Cruden and line-breaking inside centre Sonny Bill Williams, the Chiefs overcame a 16-8 half-time deficit to send the Pretoria-based Bulls back to South Africa with a second straight loss on tour.

"We're thrilled that we could kick on in a very tight game," Chiefs skipper Craig Clarke said.

"We knew we were playing some good footy and needed to keep doing what we were doing and we did that ... we didn't want to play a controlled, structured game, that's sort of their style."

Bulls fly half Morne Steyn was typically razor-sharp in front of the posts, finishing with 17 points, but his team's vaunted defence buckled under pressure to concede two tries in the second half.

Cruden's conversion after the Chiefs' third try by replacement flanker Sam Cane put the home side six points up with 10 minutes remaining and desperate drives toward the line by the Bulls ultimately came to nothing.

The Bulls held the early ascendancy after Steyn booted a drop goal over the bar but the visitors dropped the ball to allow Chiefs full back Andrew Horrell to score the first try in the 24th minute.

Cruden deftly steered a high kick into the Bulls' right corner where winger Akona Ndungane spilled the catch and the enterprising Horrell dived on the ball after kicking it over the tryline.

The Chiefs pushed hard for a second, but were repelled time and again by the Bulls on the last line of defence and were sucker-punched a minute before half-time by a Bjorn Basson try.

The jet-heeled Basson received a pass wide on the left wing and shrugged off a tackle from fellow winger Lelia Masaga before streaming over the line.

The teams traded penalties after half-time before Cruden struck in the 58th minute with a quick inside pass that allowed winger Asaeli Tikoirotuma to cross for a try near the posts and level the match at 19-19.

Steyn nosed the visitors back in front with another penalty kick before 20-year-old Cane completed a stunning move that started from the left touchline and ended in the match-winning try.

A quick pass inside from Cruden released Williams in midfield and he burst through the Bulls line and offloaded to the hard-running Cane for a try beneath the posts.

The Chiefs defended grimly over the remaining minutes and sparked raucous cheers from the crowd of 18,000 by winning a turnover ball at the breakdown to cut off a threatening drive after the siren.

Chiefs: 28 (A Horrell, A Tikoirotuma, S Cane tries; A Cruden 2/3 conversions, 3/3 penalty goals

Bulls: 22 (B Basson try; M Steyn 1/1 conversions, 4/4 penalties, 1/2 drop goals)

Reuters

Tags: super-rugby, rugby-union, sport, new-zealand, south-africa

First posted May 25, 2012 19:38:26

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Crusaders bounce back with Blues demolition

Updated May 19, 2012 19:47:42

The Crusaders responded to the verbal rocket they received from coach Todd Blackadder earlier in the week by clinically demolishing the Blues 59-12 in their Super Rugby match in Christchurch on Saturday.

The normally measured Blackadder, not prone to verbal outbursts, ripped into the seven-times champions after they lost 28-19 to the Melbourne Rebels last week and left them in no uncertain terms he expected better against the Blues.

The Crusaders ruthlessly responded.

Hooker Corey Flynn (twice), loose forwards Matt Todd and Richie McCaw, wingers Adam Whitelock and Zac Guildford, lock Luke Romano, scrum half Andy Ellis and replacement Tom Marshall all scored tries for the Crusaders.

All Blacks fly half Daniel Carter also resumed goal-kicking after recovering from a groin surgery and added six conversions before he was replaced by Tyler Bleyendaal, who added a late conversion.

The Christchurch-based side moved to 42 points and remained in the play-offs hunt in fifth-place overall and second in the New Zealand conference behind the Chiefs (45), who have a bye and will be awarded four points at the end of the round.

"We were clinical when we had the ball, played at the right end of the filed and the opportunities we got we made them count," McCaw said in a pitchside interview.

"When it comes together like tonight, it's pretty pleasing."

While they had been lacking in execution and blighted by poor decision-making and terrible kicking last week in Melbourne, the Crusaders could do little wrong against the Blues at Rugby League Park.

Hard nosed, straight running that drew defenders and allowed players to be put into space also opened numerous holes in the Auckland defence and destroyed the Blues by half-time with five tries and a 31-0 lead.

The Blues, who had beaten the Lions last week to move off the bottom of the table, missed too many tackles and had no answer to the intensity the Crusaders forwards brought to the contact area.

The visitors had few opportunites to score and it took them until the final quarter before replacement Lachie Munro scored in the corner.

He added a second try after the full-time hooter had sounded.

"The Crusaders were outstanding. They were full of fire from their loss last weekend and we copped it," Blues captain Luke Braid said.

"Their tempo was really fast and it was hard for us to set a D (defensive) line."

Crusaders: 59 (C Flynn 2, M Todd, A Whitelock, R McCaw, L Romano, A Ellis, Z Guildford, T Marshall tries; D Carter 6/8 conversions, T Bleyendaal 1/1 conversions)

Blues: 12 (L Munro 2 tries, G Anscombe 1/2 conversions)

Reuters

Tags: super-rugby, rugby-union, sport, new-zealand

First posted May 19, 2012 19:22:20

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Reds wary of bounce back factor

By Luke Pentony

Updated April 12, 2011 14:34:00

Queensland coach Ewen McKenzie says the Reds are cautious of meeting a Bulls outfit on the rebound from their embarrassing loss to the Crusaders.

The Bulls were humbled 27-0 in Timaru last Saturday night, their defence leaking three tries and poor discipline allowing the Crusaders' stand-in fly half Matt Berquist to slot four penalty goals.

Had Berquist landed more than four of his combined nine conversion and penalty goal attempts the winning margin would have been much greater for the Crusaders, who share top spot on the overall standings with the Reds.

The defeat has left the Bulls with a 4-3 record through seven matches and they slipped to eight place overall, while holding down third position in the South African conference.

'Bounce back factor' has been a popular catchphrase in the NRL in recent seasons and McKenzie is mindful the Bulls will not be lacking motivation, as they attempt to re-boot the defence of their Super Rugby championship at Lang Park on Saturday night.

"We can't take too much out of their last result, they didn't have a happy day against the Crusaders and they'll be quite determined," McKenzie said.

"They're coming in off a loss and I'm pretty sure they understand that this is a big game for them. They want to get their title chances back on track, so it's two teams pretty desperate."

The desperation McKenzie speaks of has much to do with the fact the Reds are on the verge of setting a new franchise record for most consecutive wins during the professional era.

Their 19-6 triumph over the previously undefeated Stormers in Cape Town last Sunday morning (AEST) was their fifth victory in a row and a sixth against the Bulls will set a new benchmark.

McKenzie says simply winning matches is the priority rather than posting a new record, but he acknowledges the achievement would signpost how far the Reds have come since he took over as coach following the 2009 season.

"We like to sort of adjust history and those little targets are things that we take note of," he said.

"It's not the main act for the weekend, the main act is to get the win, but to be able to subtly prove to the group that we are making progress and I guess relative to previous Reds teams, we are making significant progress and that's a good thing.

"Those little moments of history have been good and we've been able to regularly tick them off over the last 16 months. it would be nice to set a record along the way."

Solid defence

The Reds now have a 6-1 return from their seven appearances in 2011, having turned around their fortunes following a mixed start to the season.

An unconvincing 21-20 win over Western Force in their season opener at Lang Park was followed by a 30-6 thumping at the hands of arch rival New South Wales in Sydney, a lacklustre display that saw them concede four tries.

They let through as many five-pointers in their 31-25 triumph away to the Brumbies in round three, but their defence has stiffened considerably since.

Their line has been crossed only three times in their past four matches and in that stretch they have produced two defensive clean sheets, which includes the win over the Stormers.

McKenzie cites an emphasis on 'offensive' defence as being a key factor behind the Reds improvement of that side of the ball.

"We've focussed on trying to be a bit more aggressive in our defence and that definitely showed through against the Stormers, that was our best effort in terms of aggression," he said.

"The system of defence has been pretty good. We've probably been the leading team in terms of tackle completions - in other words we miss less tackles than other teams, so we knew the Stormers were going to be aggressive and they were and difficult to penetrate."

The Reds only arrived back in Brisbane on Monday evening but McKenzie says he will be not using fatigue as an excuse against the Bulls.

He is hopeful of having Ben Lucas (groin) and Van Humphries (finger) available for selection with both set to train at Ballymore on Tuesday.

First posted April 12, 2011 14:25:00

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