In some of the Super Rugby warm-up action of the weekend, these were the results:
- Bues 32 / 29 Hurricanes
- Waratahs 38 / 36 Chiefs
- Reds 35 / 12 Crusaders
- DHL Stormers 45 / 7 Boland
Blues edge Hurricanes:
The Blues beat the Hurricanes 32 / 29 (halftime 19 / 19) in a Super Rugby warm-up match at North Harbour’s QBE Stadium on Friday.
“It was a big step up from last week’s game especially in how we used and protected our own ball,” coach John Kirwan told the Blues’ official website.
“The set piece was still quite good although we need to be more accurate and need to work harder on our defence as we were broken open a few times.
“That said it was encouraging and now we can continue to work hard and look forward to giving our fans something to cheer about here at North Harbour next weekend.”
The Blues opened the scoring when big midfielder George Moala broke open the defence to score before the Hurricanes found holes in the defence to grab three tries. The Blues found Ihaia West on target with the boot while Ben Lam scored a runaway try from an Akira Ioane break to level matters at 19 / 19 at half time.
The Blues, with a number of changes, shored up the defence and pressured the Hurricanes in the second half rewarded with a try to Blake Gibson with another by Tevita Li disallowed.
The home team moved out to a 32 / 24 lead before giving up a final try on full-time.
The Blues start their Super Rugby campaign against the Chiefs at Eden Park in Auckland next Saturday, while the Hurricanes face the Lions at Ellis Park in Johannesburg next Friday night.
Scorers:
Blues:
- Tries: George Moala (1), Ben Lam (1), Blake Gibson (1)
- Conversions: Simon Hickey (1)
- Penalties: Ihaia West (4), Hickey (1)
Hurricanes:
- Tries: Blade Thomson (1), Brad Shields (1), Savea (2), Vaea Fifita (1)
Conversions: Jason Woodward (2)
Teams:
Blues: 15 Lolagi Visinia, 14 Ben Lam, 13 Hamish Northcott, 12 George Moala, 11 Tevita Li, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Steven Luatua, 7 Brendon O’Connor, 6 Akira Ioane, 5 Culum Retallick, 4 Hayden Triggs, 3 Angus Ta’avao, 2 James Parsons, 1 Tony Woodcock
Replacements: Greg Pleasants-Tate, Matt Moulds, Sam Prattley, Nic Mayhew, Will Lloyd, Joe Edwards, Blake Gibson, Kara Pryor, Simon Hickey, Francis Saili, Pita Ahki, Matt Vaega, Frank Halai, Bryn Hall, Jamison Gibson-Park, Josh Bekhuis
Hurricanes: 15 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Rey Lee-Lo, 11 Jason Woodward, 10 James Marshall, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Blade Thomson, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Brad Shields, 5 James Broadhurst, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 2 Brayden Mitchell, 1 Reggie Goodes
Replacements: Leni Apisai, Chris Eves, Ben May, Geoff Cridge, Vaea Fifita, Mark Abbott, Callum Gibbins, Frae Wilson, Otere Black, Vince Aso
Referee: Chris Pollock
Waratahs hold off Chiefs:
Defending Super Rugby champions, the Waratahs, have beaten 2012 and 2013 champions, the Chiefs, 38 / 36 in a pre-season friendly at Campbelltown Sports Stadium.
In the first half over 5 000 fans were treated to a running rugby, try scoring festival played at great pace with over 60 points scored in the first forty minutes, the Chiefs’ official website reports.
The Waratahs went out to a quick 7-point lead after try by wing Taqele Naiyaravoro, to which Chiefs flyhalf Marty McKenzie replied with a penalty.
The hosts quickly added to their tally after some end-to-end football saw wing Rob Horne score after being set up by Adam Ashley-Cooper. McKenzie again replied with a penalty.
New Chiefs recruit Hosea Gear showed his class on his return back to Southern Hemisphere rugby when he scored the Chiefs’ first try of the night.
The Chiefs took the lead when they slotted a penalty and wing Bryce Heem crossed the line for the Chiefs’ second try which was successfully converted.
Waratahs fullback Israel Folau evened up the score with his try which Bernard Foley converted.
Chiefs lock Mike Fitzgerald managed to hang on to the ball and cross the line to give the Chiefs the lead again, which McKenzie converted.
Rob Horne crossed the line for his second try of the night for the Waratahs which was converted to narrow the Chiefs lead.
The Waratahs took the lead right on halftime with a converted try scored by Jacques Potgieter to end the half 33 / 28 in their favour.
Fans got what they had waited for in the second half when Sonny Bill Williams took to the field with Israel Folau remaining on for the ‘Tahs.
Damian McKenzie opened the second half with a penalty.
The second half proved to be much slower than first with the score remaining stagnant for over twenty minutes with scrums at both ends the highlight of the third quarter of the match.
Horne added some spark to the half when he crossed the line to complete his hat-trick for the night which was converted to give the hosts a 7-point buffer
Chiefs loose forward Tevita Kolomatangi narrowed the score line with his five pointer, with the conversion to level the match unsuccessful. With 30 seconds on the clock the Chiefs were awarded a penalty attempt to secure the game which failed to cross the bar.
During the match, in true pre-season fashion, both teams opted for running rugby instead of penalty kicks and treated the fans to a highly enjoyable rugby spectacle.
Scorers:
Waratahs:
- Tries: Taqele Naiyaravoro (1), Rob Horne (3), Israel Folau (1), Jacques Potgieter (1)
- Conversions: Bernard Foley (4)
Chiefs:
- Tries: Hosea Gear (1), Bryce Heem (1), Mike Fitzgerald (1), Tevita Kolomatangi (1)
- Conversions: Marty McKenzie (2)
- Penalties: Marty McKenzie (3), Damian McKenzie (1)
Teams:
Waratahs: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Rob Horne, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Jacques Potgieter, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Mitchell Chapman, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson
Chiefs (squad): Michael Allardice, Johan Bardoul, Mitchell Crosswell, Hika Elliot, Jarrod Firth, Mike Fitzgerald, Mitchell Graham, Tevita Kolomatangi, Pauliasi Manu, Quentin McDonald, Jamie Mackintosh, Rhys Marshall, Sean Polwart, Matt Symons, Siate Tokolahi, Maa’ma Vaipulu, Hosea Gear, Bryce Heem, Ngataua Hukatai, Anton Lienert-Brown, Damian McKenzie, Marty McKenzie, Tom Marshall, Augustine Pulu, Robbie Robinson, Seta Tamanivalu, Brad Weber, Sonny Bill Williams
Reds beat Crusaders:
The Reds beat the Crusaders 35 / 12 in a pre-season match at Ballymore in Queensland on Friday.
The hosts, who led 28 / 0 at the break, ran in 5 tries to 2 in a one-sided affair against the 7-time Super Rugby champions.
It was the Crusaders’ 3rd successive pre-season defeat following losses to the Highlanders (29 / 27) and Hurricanes (41 / 31).
The Reds start their Super Rugby campaign away to the Brumbies in Canberra next Friday (13 February), while the Crusaders host the Rebels in Christchurch earlier on the same day.
Scorers:
Reds:
- Tries: James Horwill (2), Jamie-Jerry Taulagi (1), Samu Kerevi (1), Penalty Try (1)
- Conversions: Karmichael Hunt (4), Nick Frisby (1)
Crusaders:
- Tries: Luke Romano (1), Matt Todd (1)
- Conversions: Dan Carter (2)
Teams:
Reds: 15 Jamie-Jerry Taulagi, 14 Chris Kuridrani, 13 Samu Kerevi, 12 Anthony Fainga’a, 11 Chris Feauai-Sautia, 10 Karmichael Hunt, 9 Will Genia, 8 Jake Schatz, 7 Liam Gill, 6 Curtis Browning, 5 Marco Kotze, 4 James Horwill, 3 Sam Talakai, 2 Saia Fainga’a, 1 James Slipper (Captain)
Replacements: 16 Ben Daley, 17 James Hanson, 18 Sef Faagase, 19 Ed O’Donoghue, 20 Beau Robinson, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Duncan Paia’aua, 23 Campbell Magnay
Crusaders: 15 Colin Slade, 14 Robbie Fruean, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Tom Taylor, 11 Johnny McNicholl, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Mitchell Drummond, 8 Luke Whitelock, 7 Matt Todd (Captain), 6 Jimmy Tupou, 5 Dominic Bird, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Alex Hodgman
Replacements: 16 Ben Funnell, 17 Ged Robinson, 18 Joe Moody, 19 Daniel Lienert-Brown, 20 Scott Barrett, 21 Tom Sanders, 22 Billy Guyton, 23 Nathaniel Apa, 24 Nafi Tuitavaki, 25 David Havili
Young Stormers rout Boland:
A young Stormers team claimed a resounding 45 / 7 win over the Boland Cavaliers in pre-season action at the Cape Town Stadium, the Stormers website reported.
With just 9 full Stormers squad members in the mix (out of 25 players selected), this young outfit showed plenty of pace, power and precision to score 7 tries to 1 in a one-sided affair.
Scrumhalf Godlen Masimla opened the scoring in the 5th minute with a neat dash and finish under the uprights and he was at it again 8 minutes later when he scampered over for a 2nd five-pointer.
A strong maul saw Michael Willemse (playing on the flank and not hooker this week) crash over for his team’s 3rd try in the 31st minute and Masimla turned from try-scorer into try-creator when a mazy run from deep and a good chase from his own kick saw impressive inside centre Kyle Lombard get over untouched on the stroke of halftime.
At 26 / 0 up at the break there was always only going to be one winner in this encounter, although Boland opened their account 1st in the second half – only for the one-way traffic to continue later on.
1St EW Viljoen scooted over – slicing through the defence from a standing start in Boland’s 22 – and then Sikhumbuzo Notshe, who had a busy and influential match from the No 8 position, grabbed his team’s 6th try in the 68th minute.
A flurry of late substitutions from both sides saw the match lose a bit of shape in the final 10 minutes, but the visiting DHL Stormers finished on a high when right-wing Tshotsho Mbovane showed great feet to dance past the defence and score his side’s 7th try under the uprights after the full-time hooter had already sounded.
Replacement Ryno Eksteen, who looked sharp in his comeback match, slotted the conversion to add to the 4 earlier conversions of starting No 10 Robert du Preez.
All in all, it was a polished performance from this young DHL Stormers outfit, many of whom enhanced their reputations in this clash – helping avenge last year’s defeat in Wellington and showcasing, once again, the incredible depth at the union’s disposal ahead of the 2015 Super Rugby and Vodacom Cup competitions.
Scorers:
Boland Cavaliers:
- Tries: Eric Zana (1)
- Conversions: Christiaan Rust (1)
DHL Stormers:
- Tries: Godlen Masimla (2), Michael Willemse (1), Kyle Lombard (1), EW Viljoen (1), Sikumbuzo Notshe (1), Tshotsho Mbovane (1)
- Conversions: Robert du Preez (4), Ryno Eksteen (1)
Teams:
Boland Cavaliers: 15 Eric Zana, 14 Duwayne Smart, 13 Wilneth Engelbrecht, 12 Edwinn Sass, 11 Senan van der Merwe, 10 Christiaan Rust, 9 Jovelian de Koker, 8 Wayne Wildschut, 7 Andre Cotzee, 6 Freginald Africa, 5 Gavin Annandale (Captain), 4 Yves Bashiya, 3 Martin Dreyer, 2 Kelvin Fikster, 1 Henri Boshoff
Replacements: 16 Clemen Lewis, 17 Charley Wenn, 18 SP Wessels, 19 Adriaan Botha, 20 Roderrick Dalton, 21 Denzil Adams, 22 EJ Jooste, 23 Tiaan Ramat, 24 Anzo Stubbs, 25 Jos Malherbe, 26 Leeroy Wildschut, 27 Kenwinn Wiener.
DHL Stormers: 15 EW Viljoen, 14 Tshotsho Mbovane, 13 Jarryd Sage, 12 Kyle Lombard, 11 Danwel Demas, 10 Robert du Preez (vice-captain), 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Sikumbuzo Notshe, 7 Luke van der Smit, 6 Michael Willemse, 5 Chris van Zyl, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Frans van Wyk, 2 Neil Rautenbach (Captain), 1 Oli Kebble
Replacements: 16 Liam Hendricks, 17 Deacon Chowlse, 18 Burger van Niekerk, 19 Johan Momsen, 20 Luke Stringer, 21 Justin Phillips, 22 SP Ferreira, 23 Ryno Eksteen, 24 Mat Turner, 25 Shuiab Samaai.
Referee: Jaco van Heerden