Super Sharks rise to surface

WELLINGTON – South Africa’s Coastal Sharks maintained their unbeaten record and returned to the top of the Super 14 ladder, while the Canterbury Crusaders were the big movers in the weekend’s seventh round.

But it was another dire weekend for Australian sides, with their only success going to the Western Force in the local derby against the hapless Queensland Reds. The Auckland Blues had the weekend off, leaving them powerless to stop the Sharks jumping from second to first and opening up a two-point lead as they put away the Wellington Hurricanes 27-14.Importantly for the men from Durban, they managed to score four tries to earn their first bonus point of the year as they inflicted a third consecutive defeat on last year’s beaten finalists.Three of the tries came from rolling mauls, summing up the dominance of their pack, led superbly by veteran flanker AJ Venter.”We’ve been looking for the four tries all season and eventually it’s come today so we’re happy with that,” said Venter.”We’ve got six in a row now but it’s still only a start, we’ve got a lot of games on the road to come.”After playing the ACT Brumbies at home next weekend, the Sharks leave for four away games including a showdown with the Blues in Auckland.The Crusaders, rejuvenated after a bye last week, jumped from ninth to fifth on the ladder as their makeshift line-up thrashed the Northern Bulls 32-10 at Jade Stadium in Christchurch.It was their last game without seven All Blacks who have been undergoing a special conditioning programme but in their absence, understudies such as Kieran Read, Stephen Brett, Michael Paterson and Tim Bateman have stood up.”That was our focus.We want to make them (the resting All Blacks) push for a position, not just give them a position, and I think we’ve done that,” said captain Corey Flynn.The Bulls, who slipped from third to fourth over the weekend, held a massive 50-kg advantage in the forwards, but the lighter and more technically correct Crusaders won the battle up front.The Western Force continued their hunt for a Super 14 semi-final berth in just their second season, demolishing the woeful Queensland Reds 38-3 at Subiaco Oval.The win, and the four-try bonus point, put the Force into third place while the Reds remained firmly at the bottom The Central Cheetahs overcame a run of poor home form by scoring five tries to run out convincing 38-20 winners over the Brumbies.It was their first victory on home soil in four outings this year, while the Brumbies not only lost the game but also lost captain Stirling Mortlock for up to six weeks with a broken hand.Mortlock has been in the wars this season and had only recently returned from two bouts of concussion from head knocks.The Western Stormers meanwhile piled on the misery for Australian rugby by scrambling to a 16-10 victory over the New South Wales Waratahs.It was the Cape Town side’s third win over the Waratahs in five trips to Sydney and left the home team wallowing in second-last place after seven rounds.The injury-plagued Waikato Chiefs registered their first win of the season when they steamrolled the error-riddled Golden Lions 34-7.The Chiefs were spurred by feisty flyhalf Stephen Donald, who scored two of their five tries, the tactical smarts of inside centre Tasesa Lavea and a never-say-die forward pack that was missing most of its big names.Nampa-AFPThe Auckland Blues had the weekend off, leaving them powerless to stop the Sharks jumping from second to first and opening up a two-point lead as they put away the Wellington Hurricanes 27-14.Importantly for the men from Durban, they managed to score four tries to earn their first bonus point of the year as they inflicted a third consecutive defeat on last year’s beaten finalists.Three of the tries came from rolling mauls, summing up the dominance of their pack, led superbly by veteran flanker AJ Venter.”We’ve been looking for the four tries all season and eventually it’s come today so we’re happy with that,” said Venter.”We’ve got six in a row now but it’s still only a start, we’ve got a lot of games on the road to come.”After playing the ACT Brumbies at home next weekend, the Sharks leave for four away games including a showdown with the Blues in Auckland.The Crusaders, rejuvenated after a bye last week, jumped from ninth to fifth on the ladder as their makeshift line-up thrashed the Northern Bulls 32-10 at Jade Stadium in Christchurch.It was their last game without seven All Blacks who have been undergoing a special conditioning programme but in their absence, understudies such as Kieran Read, Stephen Brett, Michael Paterson and Tim Bateman have stood up.”That was our focus.We want to make them (the resting All Blacks) push for a position, not just give them a position, and I think we’ve done that,” said captain Corey Flynn.The Bulls, who slipped from third to fourth over the weekend, held a massive 50-kg advantage in the forwards, but the lighter and more technically correct Crusaders won the battle up front.The Western Force continued their hunt for a Super 14 semi-final berth in just their second season, demolishing the woeful Queensland Reds 38-3 at Subiaco Oval.The win, and the four-try bonus point, put the Force into third place while the Reds remained firmly at the bottom The Central Cheetahs overcame a run of poor home form by scoring five tries to run out convincing 38-20 winners over the Brumbies.It was their first victory on home soil in four outings this year, while the Brumbies not only lost the game but also lost captain Stirling Mortlock for up to six weeks with a broken hand.Mortlock has been in the wars this season and had only recently returned from two bouts of concussion from head knocks.The Western Stormers meanwhile piled on the misery for Australian rugby by scrambling to a 16-10 victory over the New South Wales Waratahs.It was the Cape Town side’s third win over the Waratahs in five trips to Sydney and left the home team wallowing in second-last place after seven rounds.The injury-plagued Waikato Chiefs registered their first win of the season when they steamrolled the error-riddled Golden Lions 34-7.The Chiefs were spurred by feisty flyhalf Stephen Donald, who scored two of their five tries, the tactical smarts of inside centre Tasesa Lavea and a never-say-die forward pack that was missing most of its big names.Nampa-AFP