Late Penalty Gives Highlanders Win Over Reds As Chiefs Down Waratahs
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Established 1961 25 Sports Sunday, May 27, 2018 Late penalty gives Highlanders win over Reds as Chiefs down Waratahs Crusaders outmuscle Hurricanes to tighten grip on top spot WELLINGTON: Lima Sopoaga kicked a penalty with looked like holding on for a draw until Rodda’s clumsy two minutes remaining to give the Otago Highlanders a tackle. narrow 18-15 win over Queensland in their Super Canterbury Crusaders outmuscled Wellington Rugby clash in Brisbane yesterday. Hurricanes in a top-of-the-table Super Rugby clash Earlier, the Chiefs downed the Waratahs 39-27 in Friday for a 24-13 win that puts them in pole position to Hamilton in another good day for New Zealand Super qualify in top spot for the finals. Rugby sides. The Reds and Highlanders were locked at Meanwhile, Jaguares defeated Coastal Sharks 29-13 15-all after a torrid arm wrestle between two evenly in Buenos Aires for a sixth straight win and Melbourne matched sides when lock Izack Rodda was penalised Rebels triumphed 40-13 at home to Sunwolves in other for a high tackle right in front of the posts. round 15 matches. Sopoaga stepped up and made no mistake to give Crusaders scored three tries to one in driving rain, the visitors their first win in Brisbane in five matches. with the conditions forcing two of the competition’s “In phases we did some most potent attacking sides good stuff but we also did into an arm-wrestle. some stuff that let us down, “We knew what the con- as we’ve done all season, ditions would be and we had but I’ll take that win any a plan for it. Credit to the day of the week,” boys-they stuck to it and Highlanders captain Ash It was just a were disciplined,” Crusaders Dixon said. case of too many captain Matt Todd said. “The message was to Hurricanes and Crusaders keep it simple, be direct and simple errors have traded the New hold on to the ball as much Zealand conference lead all as we could.” In a match season, but the reigning that failed to reach any champions’ victory in great heights as a spectacle, Christchurch could prove the Highlanders’ superior kicking game proved the dif- decisive. BUENOS AIRES: Jaguares full back Emiliano Boffelli (R) eludes South Africa’s Sharks prop Tendai Mtawarira ference between the two teams. It snaps a 10-match winning streak for the (L) during their Super Rugby match at Jose Amalfitani stadium in Buenos Aires, on Friday. — AFP Sopoaga and scrum half Kayne Hammington put the Hurricanes and extends Crusaders’ run to nine consec- Reds under enormous pressure with their kicking from utive victories, putting them on 50 points to Hurricanes’ general play whereas the Queensland kicking lacked 45. “It wasn’t pretty at times but we just did what we er just before half-time to make it 7-6 to the home side the Chiefs who led 19-14 at half-time and now move to penetration and accuracy. Both sides scored two tries had to, looking after the ball and keeping the score- at the break. fifth on the overall ladder. apiece, one in each half, with Sopoaga’s late penalty board ticking over,” Todd said. A Mo’unga penalty opened the second-half scoring The Waratahs, denied a bonus point by McKenzie’s proving the difference. Hurricanes skipper Brad Shields said the Wellington and he converted tries by Michael Alaalatoa and Heiden late try, were left clinging to a one-point lead in the “I think we did everything we could to lose that in team’s season was far from over after only two losses in Bedwell-Curtis as the hosts took control at 24-6. Australian conference. the back end of the match,” a frustrated Reds captain 12 matches. “This could be a turning point for us, maybe A week ago the Waratahs were celebrating after Scott Higginbotham said. “It was just a case of too it’s something that we needed,” he said. “We’ll go back CHIEFS DOWN WARATAHS snapping a 40-match losing streak by Australian sides many simple errors.” The Reds led 10-8 at the break to the drawing board and make sure we do better next In Hamilton, a late try by Damian McKenzie sealed a against New Zealand rivals when they thrashed the and then skipped away to a 15-8 lead when fullback week.”Scott Barrett made the breakthrough for 39-27 bonus-point victory for the Chiefs over the Otago Highlanders 41-12. The confidence flowed into Hamish Stewart crossed five minutes after the restart. Crusaders in the 23rd minute, forcing his way over from Waratahs. The crucial McKenzie try, his second in the their start in Hamilton when they chalked up 14 points But All Blacks flanker Liam Squires barged over with a lineout drive, with Richie Mo’unga adding the conver- match, came after the final hooter when the Waratahs in quicker than even time with Bernard Foley converting 20 minutes remaining to level the scores. The sion. Jordie Barrett hit back for the Hurricanes with a were desperately trying to haul in a five-point deficit. tries by Cam Clarke and Curtis Rona which were both Highlanders launched a wave of attacks but Queensland long-range penalty, then Beauden Barrett kicked anoth- There were nine tries in the high-paced game, six to the result of Kurtley Beale’s vision. —AFP Japan end 37-year drought with across the track, left the Red Bull Uber Cup win Verstappen mechanics with plenty of work before qualifying and dented Verstappen’s hopes of becoming the BANGKOK: Japan’s women clinched the crashes in youngest polesitter. The youngster Uber Cup yesterday, breezing by surprise has a chequered record in Monaco, finalists Thailand 3-0 in Bangkok to end a 37- final Monaco crashing in 2015 and 2016, and has year wait to regain the title. With a team had a series of incidents already this stacked with top ranked players in both the practice season. singles and doubles, Japan made light work of This time he made contact with the hosts, who entered the finals for the first the barriers at the entrance to the time after stunning China in the semis. MONACO: Max Verstappen second Swimming Pool chicane, It ends an Uber Cup drought for Japan crashed his Red Bull in final practice broke the front suspension and went that stretches back to 1981 and is a major for the Monaco Grand Prix yester- into the wall at the exit. Ricciardo, confidence boost ahead of the Olympics day while team mate Daniel meanwhile, continued to cement his which they will host in two years’ time. The Ricciardo smashed the lap record status as favourite. Runner-up in Uber Cup is second in prestige only to the for the third session in a row. 2016 after starting on pole, and third Olympics as a national team event. BANGKOK: Japan’s women team captain Ayaka Takahashi holds their winning trophy Ricciardo’s best lap of a sunny ses- last year, the Australian dominated World singles number two Akane as she poses with her teammates after defeating Thailand in their final match at the sion was one minute 11.786 seconds, both practice sessions on Thursday. Yamaguchi got Japan off to a flyer, dulling the Uber Cup badminton tournament in Bangkok yesterday. — AFP compared to his Thursday best of Sunday’s race will be Red Bull’s boisterous partisan home crowd with a 21-15, 1:11.841 and Kimi Raikkonen’s 2017 250th start in Formula One and all 21-19 win over Ratchanok Intanon, blending pole position time for Ferrari of the signs are that they will be able deft touches at the net with patience in the tory again,” a beaming Okuhara told Asian Games approaches. 1:12.178. to celebrate it in style. Ferrari’s rallies and power shots. reporters. “We are strong contenders to win gold,” The two Red Bulls were separat- Sebastian Vettel was third fastest Ratchanok, world number four and The win caps four years of effort to push said coach Rexy Mainaky. “Skillwise our ed by next to nothing, Ricciardo a behind the Red Bulls while champi- Thailand’s favourite athlete, conceded that the players up through the world rankings players are world-class, but to go to the next mere 0.001 quicker than Verstappen onship leader Lewis Hamilton, who she lost concentration after bickering with the while knitting together the national team, level we have to do more. We will come back and setting the time after the 20- leads the German by 17 points after umpire early in the second set over his refusal coach Park Joo-Bong said. “I was worried on this and evaluate what we need to add,” he year-old Dutchman had hit the wall. five races, was fourth fastest for to grant a review. Doubles pair Yuki about the atmosphere, but the team took the told reporters. China, absent from the Verstappen, who had said earlier in Mercedes and Raikkonen fifth. Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota stormed to the pressure and were hungry to win,” the South women’s final for the first time ever after the week that he was prepared to Finland’s Valtteri Bottas, second point of the match winning their tie Korean coach said, adding the team are on Thailand’s thrilling 3-2 win in the semis, have take risks in Formula One’s show- Hamilton’s team mate, needed a 21-18, 21-12.