Hurricanes storm to the top

SYDNEY – New Zealand’s Wellington Hurricanes have vaulted to the top of rugby’s Super 14 series with just four points separating the leading five teams with three rounds remaining.

The Hurricanes, who have yet to win the southern hemisphere provincial championship in its 14th season, routed the ACT Brumbies 56-7 at home on Saturday to lead the tournament with 34 points.
The Kiwis edge out 2007 champions Northern Bulls of South Africa on 33 points by a point with the Waikato Chiefs just one away on 32.
South Africa’s Coastal Sharks dropped two places to fourth on 31 points after a bye this weekend.
The Bulls climbed to second on the standings after a 33-27 win over the Chiefs in Pretoria on Saturday.
Auckland Blues crashed to a surprise 31-24 defeat to the lowly Queensland Reds, but salvaged two bonus points out of the wreckage to lie in fifth spot on 30 points, just one point out of the top four.
Western Force leapfrogged their inactive Australian rivals, NSW Waratahs, into sixth place on points differential with a record bonus-point 55-14 win over South Africa’s Golden Lions in Perth on Friday.
Canterbury Crusaders’ hopes of reaching next month’s semi-finals suffered a massive blow when they lost 20-13 to bottom team Central Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.
The defending champion Crusaders are on 27 points with the Brumbies, still a mathematical playoff hope and four points out of the top four.
South Africa’s Western Stormers held out against the Otago Highlanders to win 18-11 in Dunedin and finish their tour to Australia and New Zealand after four losses on the road.
The Hurricanes produced their most comprehensive performance of the season with eight tries to overwhelm the Brumbies.
It was the first time the Hurricanes had cracked a half-century against an Australian team as they piled on 56 unanswered points after trailing 0-7 in the opening minutes.
In Pretoria, hooker Derick Kuun proved an unlikely two-try hero as the Bulls edged out the Chiefs after leading 27-20 at the break.
Morne Steyn was another pivotal figure for the Bulls, contributing 18 points from three penalties, three conversions and a drop goal to remain leading the championship’s leading points scorer with 116 this season.
Queensland Reds kept their concentration after a 48-minute interruption in play caused by floodlight failure to see off the Blues in Auckland.
The Reds produced the potential they had shown only in glimpses earlier in the season to secure a four-try, bonus-point win over the Blues, but they still languish in 13th place.
In Perth, Western Force stayed in finals contention with their highest-ever score in a Super 14 game over the Lions and eclipsing their 45-point haul against the Cheetahs in 2007.
Meanwhile, the Cheetahs followed up their shock win over the Sharks a fortnight ago with only their second win in 10 matches this campaign against the Crusaders.
Despite the victory, the Cheetahs remain rooted to the bottom of the table while the Crusaders, thanks to a last-gasp penalty by Leon MacDonald, snatched a bonus point.
– Nampa-AFP