04-23-2010, 02:05 PM
|
#3 (permalink)
|
|
Moderator
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Pensacola, FL
Posts: 588
|
Reds v Stormers:
Quote:
The Reds continued their surge for a Super 14 play-off place by out-lasting the high-flying Stormers 16-13 at Suncorp Stadium on Friday.
Centre Will Chambers scored the home side's try in front of a bumper crowd of 30,259 as they fought back from an early score by giant Stormers lock Andries Bekker. Fly-half Quade Cooper landed 11 points with the boot, eclipsing eight from his opposite number Peter Grant.
The result leaves Ewen McKenzie's Reds handily placed in third prior to the Crusaders and Bulls' weekend games, while their losing bonus-point has moved the Stormers top temporarily on points difference.
The Reds proved once again that behind their flash exterior lies a truckload of guts and heart and they defended resolutely in the closing stages to deny their rivals, ensuring that they picked up back-to-back victories over South African contenders. Last weekend's 19-12 victory over the champions, the Bulls, was added to an earlier thrashing of the Crusaders and marked the underdogs as genuine contenders.
Cooper and his halfback partner, skipper Will Genia, have lit up the tournament this year but conspired to gift the Stormers an early lead. Cooper's kick-off went out on the full and the Stormers attacked, with Reds centre Anthony Faingaa bringing down Bekker just in the nick of time as the lock ignored Bryan Habana's outside run. The Springbok rounded off the opening try moments later though as a Genia mistake was punished first by a carry from Duane Vermeulen and then by Bekker forcing his way over.
Cooper missed his opening pair of penalties but found his range to slot two long-rangers before the break and ensure that it was a one-point game at the hooter. He snaffled the lead after the restart with his third kick of the night and was then the architect of Chambers' score. With the Reds showing patience and good ball retention, Cooper struck with a cross-kick, which bounced invitingly for midfielder Chambers to crash over.
Grant pegged the home side back with two shots from the kicking tee, but the Reds had the defence to see out another vital win in what is becoming a fairytale season. Genia almost had the last say when he forced his way across the Stormers' line in the dying seconds, to rob them of a consolation point, only to be denied by the TMO.
|
Force v Crusaders:
Quote:
The Western Force upset the title-chasing Crusaders with a 24-16 victory in their clash at the ME Bank Stadium in Perth.
Displaying enterprise and efficiency usually associated with their storied rivals, the Force fought back superbly from a 13-0 half-time deficit to avenge a sequence of near misses against the only side they had never beaten in their five-year history. The Crusaders started the 10th round in pole position but by failing to collect even a bonus point they risk losing ground at the start of a road trip that features tough assignments against the Stormers and Bulls.
The Force, twice held to 23-23 draws against the Crusaders, held their nerve in the final 10 minutes after Daniel Carter had given the visitors a 16-14 buffer against the run of play. A 95-metre breakout try completed by impressive blindside Matt Hodgson when the Crusaders looked likely to score before surrendering one of 24 costly turnovers proved decisive. Replacement hooker Nathan Charles surged 85m downfield before he was lowered; Cameron Shepherd loomed in support and when he was scragged metres from the line Hodgson scooped up a borderline pass before flopping over.
David Hill, the former Waikato and Chiefs pivot, then twisted the knife with a 78th minute penalty as the Crusaders continued to irritate South African referee Jonathan Kaplan. They were on the wrong end of an 8-14 penalty count - it was 1-7 midway through the second spell as the Crusaders were sloppy at a breakdown dominated by Wallabies openside flanker David Pocock.
The Crusaders made a deceptive beginning when scrum-half Kahn Fotuali'i realised the goal line defence was non-existent in the fourth minute. Fotuali'i's snipe was the first example of the Crusaders ability to collect points once they finally gained field position - a rarity in an opening spell where the Force's enterprise went unrewarded. Captain Nathan Sharpe turned down two kickable penalties in the quest for tries as they placed the Crusaders defence under extreme pressure, at one point bashing away for 12 phases before botching a lineout after turning down a handy three-pointer.
Brett Sheehan and Hill were also astray once Sharpe regulated his policy of all out attack while the Crusaders made the most of their infrequent raids deep into Force territory through a wonky Fotuali'i dropped goal and a Carter penalty. However, the Crusaders 13-point lead was insufficient as the Force regrouped magnificently with two tries within 10 minutes of the resumption.
It was third time lucky for the Force when another gift three-pointer was spurned for a close-range lineout and drive that ultimately led to hooker Ben Whittaker marginally applying downward pressure. There was no doubt about the Force's next try - again from an attacking lineout rather than a penalty - when prop Pek Cowan proved unstoppable when peeling from a perfectly executed rolling maul. Hill added the extras from wide out to give the home side the lead for the first time at 14-13 but the Force's momentum then threatened to stall when he was off line with two penalty attempts.
Carter's dropped goal in the 69th minute - once the Crusaders belatedly made it within range - raised the prospect of another narrow escape before Charles made his crucial break. The Crusaders head to Cape Town to meet the Stormers who spurned their chance to take the outright lead when they were outlasted 13-16 by the resurgent third-placed Reds in Brisbane.
|
Link |
|
|