Rebels shift Gerrard to centres

Updated April 13, 2011 20:38:00

The Melbourne Rebels have reshuffled their backline with coach Rod Macqueen finally having most of his players fit and available.

After a wave of injuries, all of the backs except Julian Huxley (groin) were up for selection for Friday night's Super Rugby clash with the Highlanders at AAMI Park, with the Rebels gunning for their third successive victory.

Former Test full-back Mark Gerrard has shifted to the centres, with blossoming custodian Richard Kingi named at the back.

That allowed Macqueen to accommodate the return from injury of bustling winger Cooper Vuna.

Lachlan Mitchell, who played outside centre in their win over the Force before last weekend's bye, is on the right wing with Luke Rooney relegated to the bench.

In the forwards Rodney Blake has returned to the starting 15 and replaced Nic Henderson at loose-head prop.

Flanker Hoani Macdonald will make his return from a long-term hand injury on the bench.

For the visiting Highlanders, All Blacks half-back Jimmy Cowan has been relegated to the bench.

Cowan, who has started all of the Highlanders' matches in 2011, is replaced by Manawatu and NZ Maori half-back Aaron Smith.

Rebels (15-1): Richard Kingi, Lachlan Mitchell, Mark Gerrard, Stirling Mortlock (c), Cooper Vuna, Danny Cipriani, Nick Phipps, Gareth Delve (vc), Michael Lipman, Jarrod Saffy, Hugh Pyle, Alister Campbell, Greg Somerville, Ged Robinson, Rodney Blake. Res: Heath Tessmann, Laurie Weeks, Adam Byrnes, Tim Davidson, Hoani Macdonald, Luke Rooney, Afusipa Taumoepeau.

Highlanders: Ben Smith, Kade Poki, Kendrick Lynn, Shaun Treeby, Siale Piutau, Colin Slade, Aaron Smith, Nasi Manu, Alando Soakai, Adam Thomson, Josh Bekhuis, Jarrad Hoeata, Chris King, Jason Rutledge, Jamie Mackintosh (captain). Reserves: Brayden Mitchell, David Te Moana, Tom Donnelly, Nick Crosswell, Jimmy Cowan, Robbie Robinson, James Paterson.

Tags: sport, rugby-union, super-14, australia, vic, melbourne-3000

First posted April 13, 2011 18:49:00

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Welsh send Ireland packing

Updated October 08, 2011 20:32:02

Wales advanced to the semi-final of the Rugby World Cup with a gripping 22-10 victory over Ireland in Wellington on Saturday thanks to a steely defence and superiority at the breakdown.

It is the first time the Welsh, for whom captain Sam Warburton excelled in the loose and centre Jamie Roberts stood out as a midfield battering ram, have made the last four since the inaugural World Cup in 1987.

The result continues Ireland's history of having never advanced beyond the quarter-final stage, which it has reached on no fewer than four occasions.

Wales scored three tries through Shane Williams, Mike Phillips and Jonathan Davies, Rhys Priestland hitting two conversions and Leigh Halfpenny bagging a long-range penalty.

Keith Earls scored Ireland's sole try, Ronan O'Gara claiming a penalty and conversion as Wales dominated the breakdown and nullified the Irish attack with an aggressive rush defence.

Wales, knocked out of the last World Cup in France four years ago at the group stage, got off to a flying start when veteran wing Williams showed all his predatory skill to score his 56th try in his 84th match for his country.

Charges from Roberts and Dan Lydiate set the Welsh up, a quick ball down the right wing enabling Halfpenny to suck Earls out of position and Williams to nip in at the corner, Priestland nailing the conversion.

With the wind swirling around the stadium, O'Gara spurned two chances to go for goal as Ireland pressed for a response, but nothing came as a desperate Welsh defence held firm.

Williams, at 34 the veteran of the young Welsh backline, then managed to produce a great try-saving tackle on Sean O'Brien as the flanker crossed the line, and another on Connor Murray from the ensuing scrum.

When Rob Kearney was hauled down just short of the line, the ball was turned over but an infringement at the ruck handed O'Gara a kickable penalty.

Halfpenny hit straight back with a 49-metre penalty as Warburton and Toby Faletau won the battle of the vaunted back-rows and O'Gara struggled to find his range out of hand.

Earls handed Ireland the best possible start to the second period, the wing sliding in for a try despite Phillips' covering tackle.

O'Gara hit the tricky touchline conversion to draw the scores level at 10-10.

But Phillips restored Wales's lead with a clever dart down the blindside from a ruck 15 metres out.

The scrum half fended off Gordon D'Arcy and launched himself spectacularly for the line, dotting down one-handed as Tommy Bowe came in with the tackle.

Priestland's conversion drifted wide and the fly half, whose form has seen him keep Stephen Jones and James Hook out of the team, then saw a 58th-minute penalty come back off the upright.

Ireland was then caught napping out wide and a quick ball from Phillips found Priestland, who offloaded to Davies, the centre splitting Cian Healy and Earls and riding Eoin Reddan's weak tackle for a fine individual try.

Priestland hit the conversion to make it 22-10 with 15 minutes to play, the Welsh showing fine fitness levels and resolve in the loose to keep the Irish at bay.

They now face France, which held on to defeat England 19-12 in the second quarter-final at Eden Park on Saturday night.

Wales: 22 (S Williams, M Phillips, J Davies tries; R Priestland 2/3 conversions, L Halfpenny penalty goal)

Ireland: 10 (K Earls try; R O'Gara conversion, penalty goal)

AFP

Tags: rugby-union-world-cup, rugby-union, sport, new-zealand, ireland, wales, united-kingdom

First posted October 08, 2011 17:51:41

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Shute Shield Round 2 Highlights

By Louise Ransome

Posted April 11, 2011 14:37:00
Updated April 11, 2011 16:06:00

In the first local derby of 2011 Manly has claimed peninsular bragging rights with a 55-12 demolition of Warringah at Manly Oval.

The match was anyone's at half-time, with just one point the difference but the home side was simply clinical after the break.

The Marlins stepped up a gear, running in six unanswered tries in the second half with the scoring rate at a point-a-minute.

Lui Siale and Brian Sefanaia each bagging doubles, the Marlins sending a message loud and clear to the rest of the competition.

Manly 55 (Lui Siale 2, Brian Sefanaia 2, Chris Cottee, Selesi Manu, Gareth Inches tries; Ben Seymour 4 pens, 3 cons, Marshall Milroy con) d Warringah 12 (Scott Fardy, Michael Dalton tries; Maurice Kennedy con) at Manly Oval. Half-time: Manly 13-12. Referee: James Leckie.

Next week ABC TV travels to T.G. Millner Field for Eastwood v Randwick.

Join us live on Saturday April 16 from 3:00pm on ABC1 in NSW and the ACT, or catch-up on all the action on ABC iView.

Other results

Northern Suburbs v West Harbour at North Sydney Oval

West Harbour 22 (Isaiah Pine, Henry Seavula, Todd Liubinskas tries; Shaun Treweek 2 cons, pen) d Northern Suburbs 10 (Rory Walton try; Ben Murray con, Pete Smith pen) at North Sydney Oval. Half-time: West Harbour 10-3. Referee: Anthony Moyes.

Penrith v Gordon at Nepean Rugby Park

Gordon 28 (Junior To?o, Eric Maroni, Dion Berryman, Dave Harvey tries; Dave Harvey 2 pens, con) d Penrith 23 (Toa Asa, Winnie Paulo, Lachlan Porteous tries; Gavin Duncan 2 pens, con) at Nepean Rugby Park. Half-time: Gordon 13-8. Referee: Daniel Cheever.

Southern Districts v Eastern Suburbs at Forshaw Rugby Park

Southern Districts 24 (Lopeti Timani, Nicky Price, Ben Connolly tries; Rohan Saifoloi 3 pens) d Eastern Suburbs 19 (John Coolican, Phil Mathers, Anton Lavin tries; Kurt Morath 2 cons) at Forshaw Rugby Park. Half-time: Southern Districts 14-7. Referee: Angus Gardner.

Sydney University v Eastwood at University Oval No.1

Eastwood 45 (Hugh Perrett, John Grant, Sione Piukala, Tim Bennetts, Cameron Mitchell, Ben Batger tries; Pierre Hola 2 cons, 2 pens, Ben Batger pen) d Sydney University 27 (Jack de Guingand, Eddie Bredenhann, Bernard Foley tries; Eddie Bredenhann 3 cons, 2 pens) at University Oval No.1. Half-time: Eastwood 27-6. Referee: Jamie McGregor.

Parramatta v Randwick at Granville Park

Randwick 59 (Clinton Sills 5, Tim McGann, Toby Browne, Tom Tombleson, Sam Bartlett tries; Toby Browne 4 cons, Jai Ayoub 3 cons) d Parramatta 19 (Trent Hoscher, Andrew Cox, Jesse Leota tries; Ioane Sefo 2 cons) at Granville Park. Half-time: Randwick 28-5. Referee: Callan O'Neill.

Tags: sport, rugby-union, nsw-club-rugby, australia, nsw, manly-2095

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Beware France, Henry warns All Blacks

Updated October 17, 2011 21:46:46

New Zealand will be the overwhelming favourite when it faces France in Sunday's World Cup final, a repeat of the inaugural 1987 match-up that the All Blacks won.

But All Blacks coach Graham Henry has warned that he would not underestimate a French side he said could be "the best in the world on their day", despite having already beaten Les Bleus 37-17 in a pool match at this tournament.

"We don't underestimate the ability of France," he said Monday.

"Although France didn't play well in their semi-final (the French just held on for a 9-8 win against 14-man Wales), we know they have the ability to play outstanding rugby."

Henry knows that better than most, having survived calls to be sacked after New Zealand's 20-18 World Cup quarter-final loss to France in Cardiff four years ago.

"Over the last eight years, we've lost once at home in Dunedin, and won all our games away apart from that quarter-final in the 2007 World Cup - that's the most bizarre game I've been involved in.

"But they (France) will be no more difficult to prepare for than Australia. It's a question of building in the week," Henry said.

"There'll be subtle changes in the game plan.

"France can be the best in the world on their day."

Forget the semi

Meanwhile cross-code star Brad Thorn, for whom the final is set to be his last outing in an All Blacks shirt, quoted advice from Wayne Bennett, his former Brisbane Broncos coach.

"He used to say that one of the hardest things is getting to the final," veteran lock Thorn recalled.

"Do you think anyone's going to remember who won a semi-final in 2011? No-one's going to care. It's all about what happens this weekend."

New Zealand advanced into the final on the back of a commanding 20-6 win over Australia in Auckland on Sunday.

"It was a great game, a heroic performance that everyone contributed to, and it was very pleasing in that respect," Henry said.

"Our kicking game was good at times but we could improve on that," he added having seen his side miss several shots at the posts.

"It was a big game because there's a bit of history and then there's the need to get into a World Cup final.

"It's been 24 years since the All Blacks have won a World Cup.

"The supporters knew it was a big step in the right direction getting through this game."

Henry added: "Australia are a very good side and they've got players, especially in their backs, who can you to pieces and win rugby games against the odds."

New strategies

New Zealand may be a rugby 'superpower' but it has won the World Cup just once and former Wales coach Henry said his approach to the tournament had changed from four years ago.

"In 2007 we took it one game at a time," he said.

"This year, we dissected the World Cup and its history and looked at why the All Blacks have not won in 24 years, and we used that to give us more knowledge.

"It's a new experience for this group (to get this far). It's very important we come down after the semi-final, get to base again, have a clean sheet of paper and build again.

"If we do it too early, that leads to anxiety."

Reflecting on the injury toll from Sunday's clash with the Wallabies, Henry said centre Ma'a Nonu, who scored the only try of the match, had suffered a neck strain with reserve scrum half Andy Ellis and wing Cory Jane both sustained knocks to their noses, while first-choice number nine Piri Weepu was battling a virus.

But Henry said all the fitness issues were "nothing serious".

AFP

Tags: rugby-union-world-cup, rugby-union, sport, new-zealand, france

First posted October 17, 2011 20:16:04

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Interview: Richie McCaw

Published:Sunday, October 16, 2011 9:07 AEDTExpires:Saturday, January 14, 2012 9:07 AEDT

All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw said the New Zealand back three were outstanding and made the forwards' job easy in their World Cup semi-final win over Australia at Eden Park on Sunday night.

Tags: sport, rugby-union, rugby-world-cup, australia

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Resurgent Highlanders upset Crusaders

Updated April 23, 2011 20:16:00

The Highlanders produced a superb defensive effort and made their chances count to upset the Crusaders 26-18 in their Super Rugby match at Nelson's Trafalgar Park.

The Crusaders had crushed the Highlanders 44-13 five weeks ago and were expected to comfortably account for their southern neighbours as both sides rotated their squads to rest some front-line players.

All Blacks Dan Carter, Richie McCaw and Kieran Read were all sidelined for the Crusaders.

"Both sides made changes and those guys who came in really wanted to have big games. It's a testament to the culture we have got in our squad," Highlanders captain Jamie Mackintosh said.

"It just shows that if we keep that good culture then guys can step up and play well and it's enjoyable."

Matt Berquist and Tony Brown traded early penalties to open the scoring in a high-paced match before the Crusaders' Zac Guildford finished a brilliant try, sparked from deep inside their own half, and converted by Berquist.

The Highlanders dragged themselves back into the game with tries to wingers Siale Piutau and James Paterson after some determined defence and counter-rucking at the breakdown, which disrupted the Crusaders' quick attacking platform and forced Berquist to slot a drop goal between the two Otago tries.

Brown, who at 36 has been brought back because of Colin Slade's broken jaw, converted Paterson's try but missed a late penalty as the visitors went into the break with a surprise 15-13 lead.

Paterson grabbed his second try of the match straight aftert the kick-off when the Highlanders attacked from a scrum on halfway and recycled several quick phases for Brown to cross-kick to Paterson, who was waiting unmarked on the wing.

The Crusaders then had a purple patch, demolishing the Highlanders scrum, but were also heavily penalised and unable to breach the defence.

The home side got a slice of luck when the Highlanders turned the ball over while on attack and centre Adam Whitlock scooped up the ball and sprinted 50 metres for a try.

Berquist missed the sideline conversion that would have levelled the score at 20-20.

Brown then slotted two penalties in quick succession to give the Highlanders a 26-18 lead with 15 minutes remaining and they then spent the rest of the time defending their advantage.

"Their defensive line was up real quick and they really slowed down our ruck ball and all credit to them, it won them the game," Crusaders lock Chris Jack said.

"We didn't perform that well but we were beaten by a better side on the day."

Highlanders: 26 (J Paterson 2, S Piutau tries; T Brown conversion, 3 penalties)

Crusaders: 18 (Z Guildford, A Whitelock tries; M Berquist conversion, penalty, drop goal)

-Reuters

Tags: sport, rugby-union, super-14, new-zealand

First posted April 23, 2011 19:52:00

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Ebersohn gives Strauss the fend

Source:Duif du Toit, Gallo Images, Getty ImagesPublished:Saturday, May 7, 2011 12:48 AEST

Sias Ebersohn of the Cheetahs palms off Josh Strauss of the Lions during the Super Rugby match between the Lions and Cheetahs at Coca Cola Park on May 6, 2011.

Tags: sport, rugby-union, super-14, south-africa

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