Crusaders still the team to beat in Super 14

BRISBANE – Defending Super 14 champions the Canterbury Crusaders showed they are still the team to beat as they demolished the Perth-based Western Force 53-0 in the latest round of the competition.

The Crusaders finished the weekend in second spot on the ladder, four points behind the Auckland Blues and two ahead of the Natal-based Coastal Sharks. The ACT Brumbies were in fourth place following a Stephen Larkham-inspired 36-10 win over the New South Wales Waratahs.The All Black-laden Crusaders were simply devastating against the Force.Only two points separated the second-placed Crusaders from the third-placed Force going into the match but the eight-try blitz from the home side exposed a massive gulf.The Crusaders forwards stole the limelight from their vaunted backline, scoring seven of the eight tries between them.Lock Ross Filipo led the way with three tries, with reserve forward Kieran Reid bagging two and flanker Richie McCaw and No.8 Mose Tuiali’i one each.The Auckland Blues got the weekend away to a flying start when they beat the Central Cheetahs 26-8 in Auckland with flashes of backline brilliance ensuring their position at the top of the table.The Coastal Sharks stormed back into third place when they thrashed the Queensland Reds 59-16 in Brisbane on Saturday.The Sharks scored nine tries to one to record their biggest ever win in Super rugby, while for the bottom of the table Reds it was their second greatest loss since the tournament began a decade ago.After a relatively close first half, the Sharks cut loose in the second period with their brand of unorthodox attacking play proving too much for the tiring Reds to handle.After successive losses to the ACT Brumbies and the Western Force, Sharks captain John Smit said the Sharks had tried to concentrate on playing the same kind of rugby that saw them go the first six weeks of the tournament undefeated.The ACT Brumbies proved far too good for the second from bottom Waratahs.Larkham and winger Mark Gerrard scored two tries each and flanker Jone Tawake grabbed another as the Brumbies notched a bonus point for scoring four tries for the first time this season.Larkham was outstanding, but the Brumbies were also well served by Wallaby skipper George Gregan and fullback Julien Huxley, who was involved in most of the ACT’s attacking moves.The Waikato Chiefs kept their slim semi-final hopes alive with a 38-34 win over the Otago Highlanders in a 10-try scoring bonanza in the resort town of Queenstown on Saturday.The rare daylight match recalled the high-scoring early days of the Super competition with each side running in five tries.The unerring boot of Chiefs’ flyhalf Stephen Donald made the difference after he succeeded with all five conversion attempts.The Western Stormers ran in three tries to one to run out convincing and fully-deserved 30-8 winners over the Lions in Cape Town on Saturday.With only three games remaining the Lions are now virtually out of the running to reach the last four for a place in the semi-finals.They occupy ninth place in the points table, while the Stormers moved up to 11th thanks to their fourth victory of the season.Nampa-AFPThe ACT Brumbies were in fourth place following a Stephen Larkham-inspired 36-10 win over the New South Wales Waratahs.The All Black-laden Crusaders were simply devastating against the Force.Only two points separated the second-placed Crusaders from the third-placed Force going into the match but the eight-try blitz from the home side exposed a massive gulf.The Crusaders forwards stole the limelight from their vaunted backline, scoring seven of the eight tries between them.Lock Ross Filipo led the way with three tries, with reserve forward Kieran Reid bagging two and flanker Richie McCaw and No.8 Mose Tuiali’i one each.The Auckland Blues got the weekend away to a flying start when they beat the Central Cheetahs 26-8 in Auckland with flashes of backline brilliance ensuring their position at the top of the table.The Coastal Sharks stormed back into third place when they thrashed the Queensland Reds 59-16 in Brisbane on Saturday.The Sharks scored nine tries to one to record their biggest ever win in Super rugby, while for the bottom of the table Reds it was their second greatest loss since the tournament began a decade ago.After a relatively close first half, the Sharks cut loose in the second period with their brand of unorthodox attacking play proving too much for the tiring Reds to handle.After successive losses to the ACT Brumbies and the Western Force, Sharks captain John Smit said the Sharks had tried to concentrate on playing the same kind of rugby that saw them go the first six weeks of the tournament undefeated.The ACT Brumbies proved far too good for the second from bottom Waratahs.Larkham and winger Mark Gerrard scored two tries each and flanker Jone Tawake grabbed another as the Brumbies notched a bonus point for scoring four tries for the first time this season.Larkham was outstanding, but the Brumbies were also well served by Wallaby skipper George Gregan and fullback Julien Huxley, who was involved in most of the ACT’s attacking moves.The Waikato Chiefs kept their slim semi-final hopes alive with a 38-34 win over the Otago Highlanders in a 10-try scoring bonanza in the resort town of Queenstown on Saturday.The rare daylight match recalled the high-scoring early days of the Super competition with each side running in five tries.The unerring boot of Chiefs’ flyhalf Stephen Donald made the difference after he succeeded with all five conversion attempts.The Western Stormers ran in three tries to one to run out convincing and fully-deserved 30-8 winners over the Lions in Cape Town on Saturday.With only three games remaining the Lions are now virtually out of the running to reach the last four for a place in the semi-finals.They occupy ninth place in the points table, while the Stormers moved up to 11th thanks to their fourth victory of the season.Nampa-AFP