Tries, tries and more tries in round of crazy upsets as Super Rugby resumes after international break

Alex Broun 02:33 01/07/2018
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  • Toni Pulu goes over for one of his two tries for the Chiefs in Suva

    It’s been a crazy round of Super Rugby with upsets everywhere you look.

    Here’s a quick wrap of all the action:

    Blues 39 Reds 16

    This result was perhaps not so surprising but the margin certainly was. Inspired by wanting to send off departing Jerome Kaino in style, the Blues put on one of their best performances of the season and won their first match at Eden Park this year.

    It was a match littered with yellow cards – two for the Reds in the first half (Jordan Petaia and Taniela Tupou) and two for the Blues in the second (Matiaha Martin and prop Sione Mafileo).

    The result means little in the overall scheme as both teams are well out o the playoff race, with the Blues consigned to last in the NZ conference while the Reds may start to look nervously over their shoulders at the approaching Sunwolves at the bottom of the Australian conference.

    Rebels 26 Waratahs 31

    With 11 minutes to go Melbourne led 26 to 17 and look on track for their first ever playoff appearance but then two intercepts in four minutes flipped the game on its head.

    First Kurtley Beale snatched up a loose pass only to be hauled in by the Revels defence. However a few phases later NSW flanker Ned Hanigan crashed over.

    Then just a minute later Bernard Foley grabbed another intercept and this time could not be caught as he raced away to score a converted try and put NSW five points to the good.

    The Rebels threw everything at the Waratahs in the remaining six minutes but Hanigan came up with a crucial turnover to preserve NSW’s lead.

    With the Brumbies surprise win over the Hurricanes the Rebels now must beat either the Reds or Highlanders away to clinch their spot in the last eight.

    Highlanders 22 Chiefs 45

    This was a madcap game in Suva where the Chiefs rushed to a 42-0 lead at half-time thanks to six converted first half tries.

    The Highlanders then hit back with four unanswered tries of their own in the second half but the damage had been done.

    The Chiefs may be without stars like Brodie Retallick and Nathan Harris but they just keep finding ways to get the job done.

    Veteran No8 Liam Messam had one of his best games for years, Damian McKenzie put on a kicking clinic, centre Anton Lienert-Brown had a bunch of class touches, and fullback Solomon Alaimalo and scrumhalf Toni Pulu feasted on the hosts.

    The Chiefs are now a point clear of the Highlanders on the ladder and will still be hopeful of finishing above the mis-firing Hurricanes and hosting a quarter-final. Speaking of the Canes…

    Brumbies 24 Hurricanes 12

    No one saw this coming. This was expected to be an easy win for the visiting Kiwis but no one told the Brumbies that.

    Down 12-7 at half time to tries to TJ Perenara and the Toulon bound Julian Savea the Brumbies hit back with three tries of their own in the second half to Folau Fainga’a, Rory Arnold and Andy Muirhead, while keeping the All Blacks studded Canes attack scoreless.

    The Canberra-based team are now just six points behind the second placed Rebels in the Australian conference and will be hopeful of sneaking into the playoffs although they have tough away games against the Chiefs and Waratahs to come.

    Sunwolves 42 Bulls 37

    The Japanese side love to keep things interesting. Aussie flanker Rahboni Warren-Vosayaco grabbed a try late on as the Wolves snatched an outstanding triumph over the Bulls in Singapore.

    They led 14-0 after tries from Hayden Parker and Keisuke Uchida tries but a Jesse Kriel brace and a third from Handre Pollard put John Mitchell’s men up 21-14 at the interval.

    A try to ex-Bull Gerhard van den Heever made sure that the hosts remained in contention in the second stanza and with just two points separating the sides going into the final few minutes, it was the Sunwolves who took the win when Warren-Vosayaco went over.

    Sharks 31 Lions 24

    Another upset and another match turning intercept.

    The conference topping Lions were leading 24-21 when Sharks winger Lwazi Mvovo snatched an intercept and sprinted sixty metres to score to put the Durban team in front.

    A conversion and a 73rd minute penalty from Robert du Preez then sealed the deal for the Sharks.

    The Sharks stay in the hunt for the play-offs on 32 points though they must keep winning and hope that either the Jaguares, Rebels or even Lions in front of them slip up.

    It will probably come down to the final week of the regular season when the Sharks host the Jaguares in Durban in the very last match of the preliminary rounds.

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