Brumbies upset sends Blues top

WELLINGTON – The Auckland Blues were reinstalled as Super 14 leaders at the weekend after the ACT Brumbies defied the odds and inflicted the first defeat of the year on the Coastal Sharks.

The shock 21-10 result, the Brumbies’ first away win against the Sharks, allowed the Blues to open up a three-point lead over the Natal-based side, with the Canterbury Crusaders moving up to third, three more points back. The Sharks, who salvaged some respectability with a late converted try, now undergo an arduous four-match Australasian tour starting next week against the fifth-placed Western Force followed two weeks later by a clash with the Blues.Both the Sharks and Blues have six wins from seven matches, but the more enterprising Blues also have four bonus points to one for the Sharks.On Friday, the Blues thumped the New South Wales Waratahs 34-6, with their clever switches of play and running on to the ball from depth allowing them to claim a four-try bonus point.The Crusaders, however, used all six available All Blacks and immediately shifted into a higher gear as they scored four tries in putting away the Western Stormers 36-11.The Hurricanes failed to capitalise on the return of their six All Blacks, getting mauled by the Lions 30-7 at Johannesburg.The Northern Bulls remained in the top four, level with the Crusaders on 22 points, notching their first-ever win in the Otago Highlanders’ notorious House of Pain.Although the South Africans only managed to score one try, their territorial advantage allowed flyhalf Derick Hougaard the range to land five penalties in their 22-13 victory.A penalty goal three minutes from full-time by flyhalf Stephen Donald gave Waikato Chiefs a 21-19 victory over the bottom-placed Queensland Reds in a fluctuating match where the lead changed three times in the second half.The Western Force and the Central Cheetahs had the weekend off.The Sharks, who salvaged some respectability with a late converted try, now undergo an arduous four-match Australasian tour starting next week against the fifth-placed Western Force followed two weeks later by a clash with the Blues.Both the Sharks and Blues have six wins from seven matches, but the more enterprising Blues also have four bonus points to one for the Sharks.On Friday, the Blues thumped the New South Wales Waratahs 34-6, with their clever switches of play and running on to the ball from depth allowing them to claim a four-try bonus point.The Crusaders, however, used all six available All Blacks and immediately shifted into a higher gear as they scored four tries in putting away the Western Stormers 36-11.The Hurricanes failed to capitalise on the return of their six All Blacks, getting mauled by the Lions 30-7 at Johannesburg.The Northern Bulls remained in the top four, level with the Crusaders on 22 points, notching their first-ever win in the Otago Highlanders’ notorious House of Pain.Although the South Africans only managed to score one try, their territorial advantage allowed flyhalf Derick Hougaard the range to land five penalties in their 22-13 victory.A penalty goal three minutes from full-time by flyhalf Stephen Donald gave Waikato Chiefs a 21-19 victory over the bottom-placed Queensland Reds in a fluctuating match where the lead changed three times in the second half.The Western Force and the Central Cheetahs had the weekend off.