05-08-2010, 02:33 PM
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#4 (permalink)
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Moderator
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Pensacola, FL
Posts: 588
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Brumbies v Highlanders:
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George Smith secured a winning send-off in his final home game for the Brumbies, helping his side to a bonus point 31-3 victory over the Highlanders on Saturday. Fly-half Matt Toomua pounced for the fourth try with time running out to launch the Brumbies back into play-off contention in fourth place prior to next weekend's meeting with the Crusaders.
Smith, capped 110 times by Australia, returned from a shoulder injury just in time to bid farewell to the Brumbies faithful before moving on to pastures new, but the news was not so good for Strirling Mortlock, whose back injury ended his chances of a final game in Canberra before joining the Rebels.
Wallabies skipper Rocky Elsom opened the scoring with a powerful try. The blindside plucked the ball from the air at the tail of the lineout before swivelling past two tacklers to crash over. Salesi Ma'afu struck a blow for the front-row union minutes later with the Brumbies' second, his dive for the line rounding off a brilliant dummy from his skipper Stephen Hoiles and in instinctive dart from centre Matt Giteau.
The home side were under pressure for much of the remainder of the first-half but showed admirable grit in defence, denying Highlanders lock Josh Bekhuis a certain try in the corner through a last-ditch Adam Ashley-Cooper tackle. Giteau extended the Brumbies' lead with a penalty, a score which was cancelled out just before the break by the boot of Israel Dagg.
The Brumbies struck first in the second-half thanks to a moment of magic from Toomua, who carved through a tiny gap before offloading to Ben Alexander. Giteau provided support and after the Wallaby was hauled to earth Josh Valentine was on hand to take a scoring offload under the posts. The Brumbies huffed and puffed for the remainder of the half, with Toomua popping up with moments remaining to seal the five points following a patient drive from the pack.
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Lions v Blues:
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The hapless Lions suffered the ignominy of becoming the first side to lose 13 consecutive Super 14 games, as well as the first to ship 500 points in a season, as they slumped to a dismal 56-14 defeat at the hands of the Blues in Johannesburg on Saturday afternoon.
The Blues need less than four minutes to break the deadlock, Benson Stanley scything through the Lions defence before putting Rene Ranger through to score. Stephen Brett, a late addition to the visitors' starting line-up, added the extras and then crossed himself just ten minutes later, finishing off a spell of incessant Blues pressure.
Brett converted once more and stroked over a penalty just before the half hour to put 17 points between the sides. Things were looking ominous for the Lions but Spencer provided them with a lifeline when he touched down after a sweeping attack which had been sparked by a terrific break from Tonderai Chavhanga from inside his own 22.
The Blues hit back through Alby Mathewson, who took advantage of some woefully static Lions defending to cruise over, but Spencer had not gone away and he kept his side in touch with a second try just before the break.
However, Brett stroked over a penalty just after restart and the Blues secured the bonus point when Paul Williams blazed through to score in the 48th minute. Brett's conversion put 20 points between the sides, meaning if the Lions were to have any hope of turning the game around Spencer was going to have produce something - and fast. However, his next significant contribution to the game was a sly trip on a Blue which earned the All Black fly-half ten minutes in the bin. The Blues immediately capitalised on their numerical advantage, sending Tom McCartney over for their fifth try of the game.
The Lions had been reduced to an all-too-familiar state of disarray and Joe Rokocoko too full advantage, helping himself to two tries in the space of four minutes, putting the seal on what was a comprehensive victory for the visitors.
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Cheetahs v Western Force:
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The Cheetahs moved above the Western Force and into 11th place in the standings with a bonus point-clinching 29-14 victory over their fellow strugglers in Bloemfontein on Saturday afternoon.
The game was as good as over at half-time, with the Free Staters helping themselves into a 26-7 lead after early tries from half-back duo Naas Olivier and Sarel Pretorius had been complemented by a brace from Bjorn Basson in the 15 minutes preceding the break.
The Force, who managed just one try of their own in the fist half, though Ryan Cross, proved far more competitive after the restart but Matt Hodgson's 73rd-minute try proved little more than a consolation score.
The visitors had certainly played their part in their own downfall, gifting the Cheetahs a try with less than 60 seconds on the clock, Pretorius putting Olivier away to score after David Hill had spilled the ball with the Force on the offensive.
The Cheetahs pulled further clear just over ten minutes later when Pretorius caught Justin Turner napping and pilfered the ball from the young scrum-half for an impressively opportunistic try.
The Force hit back through Cross midway through the first half when the Wallaby centre darted over from close range but the Cheetahs posted a swift response through Basson, who dived over after claiming a booming kick from Olivier. Basson struck again in the dying seconds of the half, this time after forcing the covering Nathan Charles into coughing up possession of the ball.
The bonus point in the bag, the Cheetahs showed little enthusiasm for the second half and the game rather petered out as a result. Indeed, it had long since lost its early intensity by the time Hodgson barged his way over in the closing stages.
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