The Crusaders maintained their unbeaten run with a 31-24 win over the the Chiefs in Suva on Friday, extending their lead at the top of the Super Rugby table.
The Crusaders only scored three tries to four against their closest New Zealand rivals but flyhalf Richie Mo'unga's two conversions and four penalties gave them the win.
The result boosts the Crusaders chances of finishing top of the ladder and claiming the reward of home-ground advantage in the play-offs.
RESULT
Chiefs 24
Tries: Nanai-Williams, Lowe, Hames, Cruden.
Cons: Cruden, McKenzie
Crusaders 31
Tries: Bedwell-Curtis, Havili, Funnell
Cons: Mo'unga 2
Pens: Mo'unga 4
Stormers vs Blues
The Stormers put a horror Super Rugby tour of New Zealand behind them with a 30-22 home victory over the Blues in Cape Town Friday.
Trailing by nine points early in the second half, the South Africans finished strongly and were helped by the red-carding of New Zealander Matt Duffie on 67 minutes.
Success was particularly welcome for Stormers after conceding 155 points in drubbings by Canterbury Crusaders, Otago Highlanders and Wellington Hurricanes.
RESULT
>Stormers 22
Tries: Kolisi, Leyds, Notshe
Cons: Marais 3
Pens: Marais 3
Blues 22
Tries: Moala, Parsons, Gibson
Cons: Francis 2
Pens: Gatland 1
Yellow cards: Stormers: Etzebeth (21); Blues: Duffie (12 and 67)
Red card: Duffie (67)
Hurricanes vs Cheetahs
Vince Aso led a nine-try rout as the Hurricanes returned to winning form with a 61-7 victory over the Cheetahs in their Super Rugby clash in Wellington on Saturday.
The bonus-point win lifted the defending champions up to second in the New Zealand conference, overtaking the Waikato Chiefs who lost to the front-running Canterbury Crusaders on Friday.
A week on from their tryless performance when also beaten the Crusaders, the defending champion Hurricanes rediscovered the route to the tryline led by Aso who touched down three times.
RESULT
Hurricanes 61
Tries: Fifita, Aso 3, Ardie Savea, Perenara, Toomaga-Allen, Lam, Apisai
Cons: Beauden Barrett 5, Otere Black 3
Cheetahs 7
Tries: Zeilinga
Cons: Zeilinga
Western Force vs Highlanders
A hapless Force outfit have not fired a shot in a dreadful 55-6 loss to the Highlanders at nib Stadium.
It is hard to draw many, if any, positives from the performance, which was a complete form reversal from their heroic win against the Jaguares in Buenos Aires this time last week.
A lacklustre effort in attack put the Force under constant defensive pressure and it was around the fringes of the breakdown where the Highlanders made the home side really hurt.
RESULT
Force 6
Pens: Prior 2
Highlanders 55
Tries: Li, Seuili 2, Osborne, Thompson 2, Hunt, Buckman
Cons: Banks 6
Pens: Banks
Sunwolves vs Sharks
Lwazi Mvovo helped himself to a hat-trick of tries as the Sharks cemented their place in Super Rugby's top eight with a 38-17 victory over the Sunwolves at Singapore's National Stadium on
Saturday.
The South Africans rebounded from last week's shock loss to the Southern Kings to register their eighth win of the season and secure a vital bonus point to surge seven points clear of the Blues, their closest challenger for the last wildcard into the playoffs, but it was not as easy as the final scoreline suggested.
Despite being decimated by injuries and playing in the stifling humidity of for the first time, the Sharks took control of the match from the outset, dominating the home side through their rolling mauls and pick-and-drive plays, and were rewarded with six tries.
RESULT
Sunwolves 17
Tries: Hino, Matsuhashi
Cons: Tamura 2
Pens: Ogura
Sharks 38
Tries: Mvovo 3, Nkosi 2, Botha
Cons: April 3, Janse van Rensburg 1
Lions vs Bulls
Springbok Ruan Combrinck made a two-try comeback as the Lions thrashed fellow South Africans the Bulls 51-14 on Saturday in a Super Rugby match in chilly Johannesburg.
Making his first appearance of the four-month-old season after an injury, the winger scored after 72 seconds and the home side led 39-14 by half-time.
But after a first half that produced 53 points at Ellis Park, the second half was an anti-climax with only two tries, and the second came six seconds from time.
RESULT
Lions 51
Tries: Combrinck 2, Smith, Dreyer, Whiteley, Mostert, Mapoe
Cons: Jantjies 5
Pens: Jantjies 2
Bulls 14
Tries: Serfontein, Kriel
Cons: Brummer 2
Kings vs Brumbies
The Brumbies became the first Australian side to win a Super Rugby match in South Africa this season by overcoming Southern Kings 19-10 in Port Elizabeth on Sunday.
The Canberra outfit succeeded where Melbourne Rebels, NSW Waratahs, Queensland Reds and Western Force failed by securing an abundance of possession throughout.
Superb defending enabled the Kings to lead 10-5 at half-time, but they finally caved in during the final quarter and conceded two tries.
RESULT
Southern Kings 10
Tries: Penalty try
Pens: Cronje 1
Brumbies 19
Tries: Mann-Rea, Toua, Banks
Cons: Hawera 2
* Please note penalty try is worth sevens points.
Waratahs vs Rebels
The Waratahs still have a pulse in Super Rugby 2017, after a 50-23 win over the Rebels.
Three tries in 10 minutes leading into half-time and another three in the final 13 gave the Waratahs their most emphatic win of the season.
It took less than two minutes for the Rebels’ already mounting injury worries to jolt to their lowest ebb of the season, with captain Reece Hodge stretchered off after a head knock.
Hodge was knocked out after a tackle on Wallabies teammate Israel Folau in the second minute though he was back on the sideline with teammates by the break.
RESULT
Waratahs 50
Tries: Folau 2, Phipps, Mumm, Hanigan, Hooper, Fitzpatrick, Hegarty
Cons: Foley 5
Yellow Cards: Latu (17’), Foley (49')
Rebels 23
Tries: Placid 2, Mafi
Cons: Volavola
Pens: Volavola 2
CONFERENCE STANDINGS
Australia
Brumbies 23 (Q4)
Waratahs 19
Reds 16
Force 13
Rebels 8
New Zealand
Crusaders 54 (Q1)
Hurricanes 43 (Q5)
Chiefs 43 (Q6)
Highlanders 41 (Q7)
Blues 31
Africa 1
Stormers 30 (Q3)
Bulls 15
Cheetahs 11
Sunwolves 7
Africa 2
Lions 51 (Q2)
Sharks 38 (Q8)
Jaguares 24
Kings 19
Quarter-finals: Q1 vs Q8, Q2 vs Q7, Q3 vs Q6, Q4 vs Q5
NEXT WEEK
Friday May 26
Blues vs Chiefs, Reds vs Force
May 27
Sunwolves vs Cheetahs, Highlanders vs Waratahs, Rebels vs Crusaders, Bulls vs Hurricanes, Sharks vs Stormers, Jaguares vs Brumbies (2140)
May 28
Lions vs Kings
