Super semifinals lineup complete

WELLINGTON – South Africa’s Sharks ended the Queensland Reds’ reign as Super 15 rugby champions while the Canterbury Crusaders took a step towards their eighth championship title with wins on Saturday in the first round of playoffs.

The Durban-based Sharks beat the Reds 30-17 at Brisbane and will face compatriots the Stormers in next weekend’s semifinals while the Crusaders beat the Pretoria-based Bulls 28-13 at Christchurch to progress to a semifinal against the Waikato Chiefs.The Sharks beat the Stormers 25-20 and the Crusaders beat the Chiefs 28-21 in their most recent meetings during the regular season.Flyhalf Dan Carter kicked 23 points and created a try for his All Blacks teammate Zac Guildford as the Crusaders reached the semifinals for the 14th time in 17 years after a match between teams which have won 10 of 16 Super rugby titles.The Sharks booked a semifinal place for the seventh time, the first since 2008, creating a semifinal in Cape Town between teams which have never held a Super rugby title.The Stormers and Chiefs, as the first and second-placed teams at the end of the regular season, earned byes into the semifinals and home advantage for games in Cape Town and Hamilton.As the top-placed team, the Stormers earned a match against the lowest-placed winner of Saturday’s matches: The Sharks, who finished the round robin in fifth place. New Zealand conference-winners the Chiefs face the highest-placed winner, in this case the fourth-place Crusaders who began their playoffs campaign in ominous form.Canterbury played at sustained pace, with skill and discipline and placed the Bulls under relentless pressure, forcing them into a stream of errors. The Bulls committed a steady stream of infringements at breakdowns, where they were outmuscled by the Crusaders, and gave up a succession of penalties which Carter turned into points.Carter kicked six penalties and the conversion of Guildford’s try, landing seven of nine placekick attempts. He also kicked a rare, right-foot dropped goal – moving off his favoured left foot – as the Crusaders built a commanding 16-3 lead by halftime.The Bulls scored two second-half tries, through Dewald Potgeiter and Wynand Olivier, but those scores came too late to change the course of the match and Carter’s four penalties after halftime were enough to subdue the Bulls’ attempted rally.The Crusaders’ play was almost flawless. They were more skillful than the Bulls at breakdowns, forcing a succession of turnovers in the loose while the Bulls conceded 13 penalties to seven. Canterbury’s defense was also outstanding, though they allowed two tries late in the match. They held out the Bulls in crucial passages of play in the first half and immediately after halftime to cement commanding leads.’I thought especially in that first 40 minutes we played at the right end of the field,’ Crusaders captain Richie McCaw said.’We didn’t really give them any momentum and I thought we limited our mistakes and our discipline was good and because of that we applied pressure.The Sharks continued their outstanding late-season run, winning for the sixth time in seven matches – including wins over the Stormers and Bulls – to force their way into the semifinals. They also improved their record against the Reds to six wins from seven games.The Reds appeared listless in the absence of Wallabies flyhalf Quade Cooper who, after a season plagued by injury, missed Saturday’s match under a disciplinary suspension. Queensland’s form slumped further when Cooper’s replacement, Ben Lucas, was forced from the field after only 20 minutes with an ankle injury.The Sharks scored their second try shortly afterwards to open a 17-0 lead, and a 60-meter intercept try to scrumhalf Charl McLeod in the third minute of the second half helped seal their win.Sharks coach John Plumtree had been critical prior to the match of the conference system that awarded Queensland home advantage in the playoffs, though they finished the season with fewer points than any of the other top-six sides. The Reds played at home as winners of the Australian conference, the weakest of the tournament’s three regional groups.The Sharks had to travel to Australia from South Africa and now return to South Africa for next weekend’s semifinal in an arduous travel schedule.’I’m so proud of my guys to win away from home like that,’ Plumtree said. ‘It was always going to be a big effort, the Reds are an outstanding side. They’ve won 21 out of 23 here (before Saturday).’We knew they would come to this game with a great deal of belief and with a big crowd behind them.’ – Nampa-AP

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