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Lions victorious in away game against Kings

Last night's match between the Lions (in red) and the Kings — Last night’s match between the Lions (in red) and the Kings

Lions captain JC Janse van Rensburg praised the courage and character of his team as they registered a crucial away win in the first leg of their Super Rugby promotion-relegation series against the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth on Friday.

The visiting side, who lost their Super Rugby status this year to the Kings, beat them 26-19 to take a massive advantage into the second leg in Johannesburg next Saturday.

The Kings, though, picked up one bonus point for ending within seven points of the Lions’ score.

Van Rensburg, whose team have not had many tough matches recently, said it was the most physical game they had played this season.

“Yes, it was definitely a tough, physical game and we made a lot of mistakes in the first half, but hats off to our team for the guts they showed tonight (Friday),” Janse van Rensburg said.

The Lions tested the Kings’ defence, one of the Eastern Cape franchise’s outstanding assets this season, he said.

“We worked hard to attack their defence because we knew it was very good and in the second half it went well.

“We showed a lot of character and we fought for each other.

“Now we are looking forward to Ellis Park, which suits our game, and we will have 40 000 fans behind us this time.”

For Kings skipper Darron Nell, it was a tough pill to swallow, but he took some solace from the fact they had earned a bonus point.

“That bonus point was the at least something,” Nell said, “and now we know what we have to do — win by more than seven points — and we must plan accordingly.”

He paid tribute to the Lions for their efforts, while adding that the Kings’ attacking moves were not as clinical as they should have been.

“The Lions did very well, they kept the ball better than we did and we didn’t get our set phases right to get into the game. So that is something we need to get work on and get right for next week,” Nell said.

“I think we can just look at where we went wrong and work on those things, and that should help our game massively. I thought the guys played well at stages but there were times, on attack, when we weren’t great.” – sapa

Vettel fastest in practice

Formula One championship leader Sebastian Vettel was quickest in both practice sessions of the Hungarian Grand Prix on Friday.The three-time defending F1 champion finished comfortably ahead of teammate Mark Webber both times as Red Bull recorded an impressive 1-2.

Vettel left it quite late before doing a timed lap in the morning but was quickly into his stride to set a time of 1 minute, 22.723, and in searing afternoon temperatures he was comfortably faster than that, clocking 1:21.264.

Lotus will also be confident for Saturday’s qualifying.

Kimi Raikkonen was third best in the morning and Frenchman Romain Grosjean matched him in the afternoon.

Vettel has never won in Hungary. He is looking to extend his overall lead over Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, who was fourth in both sessions.

Bulls or Brumbies?

Bulls captain Dewald Potgieter has targeted a solid start to Saturday’s Super Rugby semi-final against the Brumbies at Loftus Versfeld as the key for his team to make it through to their fourth final.

According to supersport.com, Potgieter will lead a younger and very different Bulls side out onto his home ground this weekend – a side with much less experience than the ones that won the other three competitions, but one which believes they have what it takes to become Southern Hemisphere champions.

But even though they play at Loftus Versfeld, a field where they are unbeaten this year, and one where they have never lost a playoff match, the Bulls know they will need to be at their best to beat Jake White’s Brumbies – a side who are not flashy but very effective in the way they win matches.

According to ruckingoodstats.com, there is very little to choose between the teams, based on their statistics through the season, which point to very similar trends:

• Both teams dominate possession – the Brumbies are slightly ahead with 53.3% to the Bulls’ 52.5%. This might not sound like much, being just over 50%, but after 16 rounds it is significant. Most teams sit just under 50% for possession.

• Both teams are averaging the same amount of attacking time needed to score a try. The Brumbies are scoring a try every 6 minutes 34 seconds and the Bulls every 6 minutes 51 seconds.

• When it comes to conceding tries, the numbers are also similar: the Brumbies concede a try every 8 minutes 42 seconds on average, while for the Bulls it’s 8 minutes 34 seconds. This means that the two teams have a similar attack and defence pattern – reflected by the fact that they have both made the semifinals!

• Turnovers are not high for these teams. Given the hype about Brumbies flanker George Smith’s role in the game from the Aussies, you would expect higher turnover ratios. The Brumbies are stealing/turning over 2.9% of the opposition’s rucks, the Bulls slightly better at 3.3%. In comparison, the Crusaders were just 2% for the season (Reds 4%) but last week against the Reds, turned over a massive 9%, showing how much their game execution has improved in the last few weeks.

• While the Bulls have had some shockers defensively, they are missing 1 in 5.5 tackle attempts or a tackle every 58 seconds in defence. The Brumbies are again similar, with a miss every 1 in 5.9 tackle attempts or every 59 seconds.

• The biggest area of difference is handling errors. When looking at handling errors as a proportion of total errors made, the Brumbies’ handling errors make up 37.9% as opposed to the Bulls at 43.4%. When you take time on the field into consideration, the Bulls are 20% more likely to make a handling error than the Brumbies

• When it comes to kicking – the stat that is likely to dominate this weekend – there is only 1 tactical kick from the hand difference between the two teams. The Bulls have made 409 tactical kicks from the hand and the Brumbies 410. Factoring in time on attack means that the Bulls kick every 39 seconds and the Brumbies every 41 seconds.

• The Bulls will kick and chase more, retaining 10.5% of their kicks compared to the Brumbies’ 7.1% retained kicks. But the Bulls will kick less for touch with only 25.5% of tactical kicks from hand going to touch to the Brumbies’ 26.8%.

• When it comes to kicking errors – and this will be key this weekend – the Bulls’ stat is 10.8%, which is much higher than the Brumbies’ 6.8%, meaning that there is a 58% greater chance that the Bulls will make a kicking error than the Brumbies will.

So with this in mind, Bulls coach Frans Ludeke summed it up quite nicely when he spoke about what he saw between the Cheetahs and Brumbies in Canberra last Sunday.

“It was quite a battle. Hats off to the Cheetahs, there were some areas in the game where I felt they had control.

“But the way the Brumbies stuck to their game-plan, to the way they play, gave them the result.

“We feel this weekend will be the same. They play a lot like us, they like field position and to suffocate the opposition.

“They have a good pack of forwards and are dangerous in broken play.

“They have players who can finish off as well,” Ludeke said.

“This is why I say set pieces are vital.

“You need to control the broken field, use your opportunities when you get there and applying the pressure is vital.” – ruckingoodstats.com/Supersport

Solomons eager to retain Super Rugby status for Kings

Southern Kings director of rugby Alan Solomons has encouraged his team to live up to expectations when they meet the Lions in the first of their Super Rugby promotion/relegation playoff fixtures on Friday.

In what is being billed as their biggest challenge of the season, the teams clash at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, in Port Elizabeth, in the first of two legs, with a spot in next year’s Super Rugby competition the prize.

The second leg will be played in Johannesburg on August 2 and the team with the most log points after the two games will join the remaining four South African franchises in the 2014 competition.

“This match is critical to both franchises because the consequences of these matches are extremely serious,” Solomons said ahead of the crunch encounter.

“The winners of these two matches remain in Super Rugby and the side that loses is out of Super Rugby.

“And you have to understand the consequences of not playing in Super Rugby, because there is no inspiration to retain young players and no top-class rugby for the public, so the consequences are dire.”

His words were echoed by Lions’ president Kevin de Klerk, who said it had become extremely difficult to retain sponsors and the fans’ interest without the lure of Super Rugby.

The Kings suffered a blow when regular centre and captain Andries Strauss was ruled out of the promotion series, and was replaced by young Shane Gates, with lock Darron Nell taking over as skipper.

The Lions will be desperate to regain their Super Rugby status and have named an experienced line-up for the first encounter, with flyhalf Elton Jantjies and lock Franco van der Merwe set to play key roles.

After seeing the Lions team, Solomons said he was expecting a massive test, but was up to the contest.

“There is no question that the Lions have got some really good players, but I do not think they are better than we are,” he said.

“I think this will be a tight affair that will turn on little things.”

Kings’ centre Ronnie Cooke said the coastal outfit were prepared for a running game from the Lions.

“Elton brings an x-factor to the game that will suit the Lions because they play a running game,” Cooke said. “He could spark something for them.”

Both Solomons and Kings’ coach Matt Sexton said there was a feeling of excitement in the camp, but said they were concentrating on the basics and sticking largely to the game plan which had worked for them this season.

“I think the general feeling we have is excitement, it’s a huge occasion, it’s like a test match or world cup final,” Sexton said.

“The guys are looking forward to the occasion.”

The New Zealander said he did not want to give too much away about the game plan.

“You take each team on their merits and there are opportunities that will be presented during the match and we just need to capitalise on that,” he said.

“The times where we have been successful on the score board are times where we’ve been very clinical in our approach.”

Meanwhile, Lions coach Johan Ackermann is well aware of the implications for the two matches.

“We all know how important it is and the [Lions] players are hungry to get another taste of Super Rugby,” he said. “We can’t hide from the fact that there’s a lot at stake and for both teams there are two important weeks ahead.”

Ackermann has had to weld a side together after many senior players were loaned out during the season and he is hoping the Lions will not have to face the situation again.

“It [defeat] will be a huge blow for either union. In their case, having been in just for one year, then fall out and stop the entire process… it will be an enormous setback. – sapa

Chiefs the underdogs in Super Rugby semifinal

by Steve McMorran

Despite being defending champions and finishing atop the Super Rugby standings in the regular season, the Chiefs accept that they’re underdogs in Saturday’s all-New Zealand semifinal against the Crusaders.

Though they won 12 of 16 games to qualify automatically for the semifinals and though they beat the Crusaders in the first of two regular season meetings, the Hamilton-based Chiefs are given little chance of halting the Crusaders’ drive to an eighth Super Rugby title.

The Christchurch-based Crusaders have developed an irresistible momentum in the second half of the season, winning five straight matches since their 28-19 loss to the Chiefs on May 24. Their 43-15 win over the Chiefs three weeks ago and their 38-9 quarterfinal win over the Queensland Reds make them hot title favorites.

The Pretoria-based Bulls will host the ACT Brumbies in the other semifinal after finishing second behind the Chiefs in the regular season to earn home advantage in the playoffs.

The Bulls performed substantially above expectations to finish atop the South African conference and won eight straight matches before a loss to the Stormers in the last round cost them the chance of finishing in first place overall.

The Canberra-based Brumbies, who edged the Cheetahs 15-13 last weekend, face the immense task of traveling to South Africa for the semifinal and attempting to overcome the Bulls’ formidable home advantage at Loftus Versfeld.

The task is a larger one for the members of the Brumbies’ squad who played for Australia against the British and Irish Lions and may still be recovering from the physical and emotional strain of that series defeat.

The All Blacks’ mid-year series against France was less taxing and neither the Chiefs nor the Crusaders have been harmed by their players’ involvement. If anything, the Crusaders’ form has steadily improved in the month since the test window, led particularly by an upswing in the form of star flyhalf Dan Carter, who scored 18 points in their win over the Chiefs and 20 against the Reds.

The Chiefs’ sandwiched their loss to the Crusaders between unconvincing wins over the Blues and Hurricanes and seem well short of the form which carried them to their first Super Rugby title last year.

“Most of the country is writing us off, which is not a bad thing,” Chiefs coach Dave Rennie said. “But we’re happy with where we’re heading and we’ve got a pretty happy bunch who are keen to make amends from the last time we played,” the Crusaders.

“Obviously they’ll come in as favorites but we get to play them at home.”

The Chiefs have carefully analyzed their recent heavy loss to the Crusaders and are confident of repairing the deficiencies that match highlighted.

“We were caught short, especially from an intensity point of view, so we can change that quickly because we can control that,” Rennie said. “We’ve been here before, we’ve played the Crusaders quite a bit over the last couple of years and so we know what to expect.”

The Crusaders have named the same 22 they deployed against the Reds, resisting any temptation to elevate All Blacks captain Richie McCaw from the bench into the starting XV. McCaw returned to top rugby in last weekend’s match, playing the last 15 minutes.

Coach Todd Blackadder said starting McCaw “was never part of our thinking” because the veteran backrower is only just returning from an extended break and “it would be a huge step to go into a game like this.”

The Bulls have been able to nurse several key players back to health during the break they earned by qualifying directly for the semifinals. Scrumhalf Francois Hougaard and center Jan Serfontein have recovered from injuries and been named in the starting lineup, while Junior Springboks lock Paul Willemse has been included on the bench.

“We have worked hard to put ourselves in a position where we could host a semifinal at home and achieved that,” Bulls coach Frans Ludeke said. “We cannot allow all that effort to go to waste.

“We certainly respect the Brumbies. But this match will be about us and our ability and drive to make them play the game at our tempo.”

Brumbies coach Jake White shunned the temptation to ring changes after last weekend’s unconvincing performance against the Cheetahs.

“They have a good record at Loftus and … they are a typical South African side: very big and physical with some quality finishers out wide,” said White, who guided South Africa to the 2007 World Cup title. “So it’s up to our players to combat that with our own game.” – AP

Serfontein, Hougaard return for Bulls

The Bulls will be buoyed by the return from injury of scrumhalf Francois Hougaard and centre Jan Serfontein for their crucial Super Rugby semi-final against the Brumbies at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Serfontein replaces Francois Venter in the midfield and Hougaard’s inclusion comes at the expense of Jano Vermaak, who will supply cover from the bench.

Bulls coach Frans Ludeke said on Wednesday that accuracy would be decisive against a Brumbies side desperate to make the final.

“We would like to be accurate from the first minute to the last, and turnovers in a semi-final will be vital,” Ludeke said.

“We are playing against very good opposition and that is why they finished third in the competition [after the league phase] and they have a lot of strengths all-round.”

The team will be further boosted by the inclusion of lock Paul Willemse, who takes the place of Jacques du Plessis on the bench.

While the Brumbies narrowly won 23-20 in the previous encounter between the two teams in Canberra in March, the Bulls’ semi-final history at Loftus counts heavily in their favour.

The Pretoria side have never lost a Super Rugby last-four clash on home turf and they should use the support from the Loftus faithful to their benefit.

Ludeke, however, said they could not rely solely on the home fans and they would have to be accurate in executing their game plan.

“It is about getting in the right areas and setting up a good platform to launch a good attack, and it is all about being patient because we believe we’ve got the ability to score tries and to squeeze points when we are in the right area,” he said.

The Bulls mentor believed the Brumbies played a similar style of rugby to the men in blue, which would make for an intense battle.

“They play a lot like us — it is field position, a suffocate type of game.

“They are very good on defence, with a solid pack of forwards, and in broken field they have players that can finish off.

“The set pieces will be vital and you have to control the broken field, and we will have to use the opportunities when we get there.”

Meanwhile, Brumbies coach Jake White named an unchanged team for the match.

Though his side faced an uphill battle against the Bulls, White said his charges were up for the challenge.

“The Bulls present us with a huge challenge this weekend. We know they will play through their forwards and use Morne [Steyn] to finish with points,” White said.

“They have a good record here at Loftus and for our players to experience running on in front of a full house of more than 50,000 people will be fantastic.

“They are a typical South African side — very big and physical with some quality finishers out wide — so it’s up to our players to combat that with our own game.”

Bulls team: Zane Kirchner, Akona Ndungane, JJ Engelbrecht, Jan Serfontein, Bjorn Basson, Morne Steyn, Francois Hougaard, Dewald Potgieter (captain), Jacques Potgieter, Deon Stegmann, Grant Hattingh, Flip van der Merwe, Werner Kruger, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Dean Greyling. Replacements: Callie Visagie, Frik Kirsten, Morne Mellett, Paul Willemse, Jono Ross, Jano Vermaak, Jurgen Visser.

Brumbies team: Jesse Mogg, Henry Speight, Tevita Kuridrani, Christian Lealiifano, Clyde Rathbone, Matt Toomua, Nic White, Ben Mowen (captain), George Smith, Peter Kimlin, Sam Carter, Scott Fardy, Ben Alexander, Stephen Moore, Scott Sio. Replacements: Siliva Siliva, Ruan Smith, Fotu Auelua, Colby Faingaa, Ian Prior, Andrew Smith, Joe Tomane. – sapa

Darron Nell to lead Kings against Lions in crucial match

Experienced lock Darron Nell will captain the Southern Kings in the first of the two-leg Super Rugby promotion-relegation matches against the Lions in Port Elizabeth on Friday.

“Darron has done a tremendous job for us over the years in a leadership role,” Kings director of rugby Alan Solomons said on Tuesday.

“Whenever he has captained a side he has done so successfully, and after giving the matter careful consideration we feel he is the best man to lead the side in this big game.”

Nell stepped into the leadership role after centre Andries Strauss broke his left hand in training on Friday and was ruled out of the double-header against the Lions.

Strauss assumed the captaincy earlier in the season when first-choice captain Luke Watson was sidelined through injury.

Former Sharks lock Steven Sykes, who has also captained the Kings this season, was named on the bench for Friday’s clash.

The second leg of the promotion-relegation matches will be played in Johannesburg on August 2.

Promising young centre Shane Gates stepped up to replace Strauss and will partner vice-captain Ronnie Cooke in the midfield.

New Zealander Hadleigh Parkes, who missed much of the season with a broken arm, will slot in at wing.

“He (Cooke) has, throughout the season, had a very influential role and has played nearly every single game for us, and we are very fortunate to have someone of that ilk taking leadership of the backs,” Solomons said.

Solomons said there was a fair amount of consistency in the team that had been selected, with many pairings having played together during the season.

The pack remained relatively unchanged, with Schalk Ferreira, Bandise Maku and Kevin Buys forming the front row, while the loose trio of Wimpie van der Walt, Jacques Engelbrecht and Cornell du Preez would be looking to make a significant impact.

“This match is critical to both franchises, because the consequences of these matches are extremely serious,” Solomons said.

“The winners of these two matches remains in Super Rugby and the side that loses is out of Super Rugby.”

Southern Kings team: SP Marais, Marcello Sampson, Shane Gates, Ronnie Cooke (captain), Hadleigh Parkes, Demetri Catrakilis, Shaun Venter, Schalk Ferreira, Bandise Maku, Kevin Buys, Cornell du Preez, Darron Nell, David Bulbring, Wimpie van der Walt, Jacques Engelbrecht.

Replacements: Hannes Franklin, Charl du Plessis, Steven Sykes, Devin Oosthuizen, Nicolas Vergallo, Waylon Murray, George Whitehead. – Sapa

Ernie Els made R179 million ($18.2 million) last year

Ernie Els was South Africa’s highest-earning sportsman in 2012, making 179 million rand ($18.2 million) last year, according to the country’s Sunday Times newspaper.

The four-time major champion earned $14.7 million from endorsements and commercial work like golf course design, and the remaining $3.5 million in tournament winnings, boosted by his victory at the British Open, according to the rich list compiled by the newspaper.

The top four on the South African sports list were golfers. Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open champion, made $9.8 million in 2012, Retief Goosen $6 million and Charl Schwartzel $5.9 million.

However, they are some way off Tiger Woods, whom Forbes magazine rated in June as global sport’s highest-earning athlete during the preceding 12 months with $78.1 million.

The South African newspaper said its list was compiled using interviews with leading agents as well as figures from the U.S. PGA and other sports bodies.

While the Sunday Times’ ranking underlined the earning power of golf, it also showed the financial pull of cricket’s Indian Premier League and European and Japanese rugby clubs for South African sports stars.

Cricketer Jacques Kallis makes $305,000 a year playing for his country and $1 million a year from the IPL’s Kolkata Knight Riders. Kallis was No. 6 on the list behind English Premier League footballer Steven Pienaar, who makes an estimated $5 million a year.

Seam bowler Chris Morris is the starkest example of how the IPL is the “land of milk and silly money,” according to the paper. Morris makes $40,000 a season from his Johannesburg-based Lions team, but $625,000 from the IPL’s Chennai Super Kings following this year’s draft.

Rugby players are also profiting from deals with foreign clubs.

Springboks wing JP Pietersen rocketed into the top 10 after signing a $1.1 million per season contract with Japan’s Panasonic Wild Knights. That deal was over five times more than what he makes a year in South Africa off his provincial and national contracts combined, the newspaper said. – AP

Amla injury could stump Proteas

A groin injury to star batsman Hashim Amla has added to South Africa’s woes as they attempt to prevent their limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka from falling apart.

The Proteas are already 2-0 down in the five-match one-day series after being thrashed by 180 runs in Saturday’s opener, before falling by 17 runs in a rain-ruined game on Tuesday.

South Africa have now lost 11 consecutive one-day matches on Sri Lankan soil since 1993, but AB de Villiers’ tourists must win Friday’s third match in Pallekele to stay afloat in the series.

Amla, who missed the first match due to a stiff neck, fell awkwardly while fielding near the boundary line on Tuesday and was rushed to hospital, where scans showed a strain to the left groin muscle. Team manager Mohammed Moosajee said Amla was being put through intensive treatment to ensure he is fit to play in the rest of the series.

“Hashim jarred his left knee into the ground while fielding, after which he reported discomfort in the pelvic and groin region,” Moosajee said.

“Injuries of this nature usually take three to seven days to recover. But he will receive intensive treatment and rehab in the coming days to give him the best possible chance of being ready for the rest of the series.”

Amla’s injury will further weaken the tourists, who are without three frontline players — fast bowler Dale Steyn, all-rounder Jacques Kallis and former captain Graeme Smith — for the tour.

The third and fourth matches will be held in Pallekele on Friday and Sunday, before the action returns to Colombo for the final game at the Premadasa stadium next Wednesday.

The one-day series will be followed by three Twenty20 internationals. – Sapa/AFP

Charges filed against deceased Hansie Cronjé by Indian police

by Abhaya SRIVASTAVA

Indian police filed charges on Monday over a match-fixing scandal involving the late South African captain Hansie Cronje, 13 years after the revelations sent shockwaves thr

ough the cricketing world.

Police filed the charges in a New Delhi court against bookmakers and Cronje himself, who died in a plane crash in 2002, over allegations of fixing dating back to South Africa’s tour of India in 2000.

The charges are the first by Indian police over the scandal, which revealed the shady world of Indian bookmakers in cricket.

“There are six accused in this case, three of them are on bail while two are abroad,” Inspector Keshav Kumar told the court.

“The sixth is Hansie Cronje, who is dead,” said Kumar, the investigating officer in the case.

Cronje, once the darling of South African cricket, was banned from the sport for life after admitting taking bribes from bookies in exchange for providing match information and influencing games during the 2000 tour.

Cronje admitted to a South African commission investigating the scandal to taking thousands of dollars in bribes from bookies to underperform, although he denied match-fixing itself.

Delhi police have alleged that Cronje persuaded some of his teammates, including Herschelle Gibbs, to agree to underperform in a one-day match in 2000, including by making fewer runs than he might otherwise have tallied.

Gibbs and bowler Henry Williams were both banned from playing for six-months and fined by South African authorities over their admissions in the scandal.

The scandal broke when New Delhi police, working on an unrelated extortion case, tapped a telephone conversation between Cronje and one of the bookies, Sanjeev Chawla.

Chawla is believed to be living in the UK and Indian police hope to seek his extradition now that the charge sheet has been placed before the court.

“We will now request the court to grant approval to seek extradition of Chawla from the UK to India,” Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), Ravindra Yadav, told AFP.

“The UK government does not allow extradition without the charge cheet. We are almost sure Chawla is in England,” he said.

Yadav said the case was one of “criminal conspiracy” and has only now been filed in court after police finally received in January this year voice samples from tapped phone conversations.

“This is criminal conspiracy. People went to the ground to watch the games thinking they would be played in the true spirit. They did not know the outcome was fixed. That’s why we have filed the charges,” he said.

Police named the accused as bookmakers and gamblers Rajesh Kalra, Krishan Kumar and Sunil Dara — who are all on bail — and Chawla and Manmohan Khattar who are overseas.

Cronje died in June 2002 when a light plane in which he was travelling crashed in bad weather in South Africa.

Monday’s action came after Delhi police chief Neeraj Kumar told local media that he planned to file charges in the Cronje case and a separate Indian Premier League spot-fixing scandal, before the end of the month.

Kumar told the Hindustan Times newspaper on Saturday that he was working on tying up “some loose ends” before his retirement at the end of July, including in both cases.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) was rocked by allegations of spot-fixing in May this year, with some 29 people arrested including three Indian players. The cricketers, who have denied wrongdoing, are accused of deliberately bowling badly in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars from bookies.

Betting on sports is illegal in India except at horse races, but major betting syndicates have been in operation for many years. – AFP

Unlucky kick dashes Cheetah hopes in dying moments

Cheetahs five-eighth Riaan Smit hit the post with a conversion attempt after the siren to give the Brumbies a 15-13 win in their Super Rugby qualifying final in Canberra.

While the Cheetahs scored the only two tries of the match, the Brumbies dominated the kicking duel and were amply rewarded with prime territory throughout the game.

The Brumbies had the lion’s share of the possession in the first half, yet the Cheetahs’ trademark scrambling defence proved up to the task.

A hotly contested breakdown battle also stilted momentum for both teams, referee Glenn Jackson warning both captains to clean up their sides’ acts midway through the second half.

The Cheetahs were seven points down when replacement Ryno Benjamin crossed in the left corner in the final minute to give Smit a chance to send the game into extra time.

But the kick hit the left post and the Brumbies escaped with the narrow victory to book a semi-final against the Bulls in Pretoria early next Sunday morning (AEST).

While the home side arguably had the rub of the green on scrum penalty decisions from Jackson in the first half, Brumbies loose-head prop Scott Sio was clearly dominant in the second half.

Man-of-the-match George Smith was also outstanding for the Brumbies, his presence at the breakdown a constant thorn in the side of the Cheetahs.

The Brumbies were rewarded for a blitzing start with an early penalty goal, but the Cheetahs hit back in the 16th minute when their first attacking set-piece yielded a try to outside centre Johann Sadie.

Sharp-shooting goal-kicker Christian Lealiifano then uncharacteristically missed two penalty shots before finding his range again to give the Brumbies a 6-5 lead at the break.

The Cheetahs drew first blood after the break with a penalty goal to Smit, but the Brumbies hit back with three of their own to gain the seven-point lead which would eventually help them hold on for victory. – AP

Super 15 rugby: Brumbies 15 Cheetahs 13

Johann Sadie, one of the try scorers for the Cheetahs

Result of a Super 15 rugby qualifier between the ACT Brumbies and Central Cheetahs on Sunday:
ACT Brumbies (AUS) 15 Central Cheetahs (RSA) 13
Ht: 6-5
Scorers
Brumbies – Penalties: Christian Lealiifano (4), Nic White
Cheetahs – Tries: Johann Sadie, Rayno Benjamin; Penalties: Riaan Smit
Referee: Glen Jackson (NZL) – AFP

Pieter-Steph du Toit stays a Shark

Lock Pieter-Steph du Toit has ended weeks of speculation over his future by signing a new two-year deal at the Sharks, the Durban union announced on Friday.

Reports were rife over the past month, suggesting the out-of-contract 20-year-old was being targeted by some of the other major unions.

Du Toit, a member of the Junior Springbok team which won the Under-20 World Cup last year, is highly rated by national coach Heyneke Meyer and was in line for his senior national debut during in June before he was withdrawn due to injury.

“We are delighted to have secured the signature of a player of the calibre of Pieter-Steph,” said Sharks commercial manager Rudolf Straeuli.

“We not only identified him, but he has also been developed through the Sharks Academy and has a bright future ahead of him.”

New Sharks chief executive John Smit said he was thrilled the promising youngster would remain in Durban.

“Pieter-Steph has shown great promise and he has had a positive impact on the team, since joining the senior set-up,” Smit said.

Du Toit missed the back end of his team’s disappointing Super Rugby campaign with a sternum injury.

“As a 20-year-old rugby player, I am living my dream and I am extremely privileged to be identified by the Sharks as a player who can play a role in the province going forward,” Du Toit said.

“I will continue to learn from the many experienced players in our team and I hope that I can make the contribution required and expected of me.

“I will work as hard as I can and always do my best for the Sharks.” – Sapa

Crusaders beat Reds 38-9 in Super 15 quarterfinal

Dan Carter leading the Crusaders to victory

Flyhalf Dan Carter scored a try among 20 points as the Crusaders beat the Queensland Reds 38-9 in the Super 15 quarterfinals Saturday to edge closer to their first Super Rugby title in since 2008.

Carter scored the second of four tries by the Christchurch-based Crusaders and kicked three conversions and three penalties – six goals from eight attempts – to reward his team’s physical domination of the Reds, who were champions two years ago.

The Crusaders will play either the Hamilton-based Chiefs or Pretoria-based Bulls in next weekend’s semifinals depending on the outcome of Sunday’s match between the ACT Brumbies and Bloemfontein-base Cheetahs.

If the third-ranked Brumbies beat the sixth-ranked Cheetahs, the Crusaders will play the defending champion Chiefs but if the Cheetahs win they will travel to South Africa to play the two-time champion Bulls.

The Crusaders will face either of those assignments with confidence after Saturday’s comprehensive win. From the start they physically overpowered the Reds in every area.

Ryan Crotty scored first in the 10th minute, running off a pass from Carter who took the ball to the gain-line from a five-meter scrum.

Carter scored his own try in the 30th minute after an outstanding lone break by Sam Whitelock, carried on with quick passes by Israel Dagg and Zac Guildford.

Winger Tom Marshall scored in the 51st minute after Crockett had split open the Reds defense and linked with Todd, who provided the last pass to the try-scorer. The Reds were almost cowed when Reid and Carter combined in the buildup to Crotty’s second try 15 minutes from fulltime.

The Crusaders dominated the contact area with powerful tackles, with physical force and with technique which brought them seven breakdown turnovers. They were able to advance beyond the gain-line at every venture, brushing aside Queensland’s ineffective interior defense. When they did so, creating even partial breaks, there were players in ready support and all Crusaders – backs and forwards – had the level of skill to keep the ball alive and offload in tackles.

Backrowers George Whitelock, Kieran Read and Matt Todd easily thrust their way through tackles then picked out supporting players with well-timed passes. But even tight forwards such as prop Wyatt Crockett and lock Sam Whitelock – the latter one of the most energetic players on the field – had the ability to brush past the shoulders of Queensland tacklers, to extend their arms and feed the ball to teammates in space.

Carter ran vigorously into contact and either passed or established quick and accurate phase play. There was a stark comparison in the record of his opposite number, out of favor Wallabies flyhalf Quade Cooper, who was so reluctant to take the ball into contact he wasn’t once tackled in the first half, nor did he make a tackle one-on-one.

“That was pretty pleasing,” Crusaders captain Read said. “I guess it’s good to hit your straps at this time of year. … It was a great start from our guys which set the tone pretty early and it continued on from there.

“I think in finals games defense is where your character shows and probably where it’s won. Certainly, we stepped up there from last week and I guess the conditions probably helped,” he added. “We were able to play a bit of free-flowing footy which is nice as well.”

The only Queenslanders to make a significant impact were scrumhalf Will Genia, who placed himself defensively in the backfield to take Crusaders’ kicks and who was steady in that effort.

Lock James Horwill returned to the Reds’ lineup, along with Genia, after leading the Wallabies in their three-test series against the British and Irish Lions. He had an unusually subdued game, hovering mostly in midfield, and was substituted after only 60 minutes.

In contrast, All Blacks captain Richie McCaw took the field as a replacement in the 65th minute to end an eight match “sabbatical” absence from top-line rugby. He carried the ball over the advantage line with his first touch, helping to set up the Crusaders’ final try and the second of the night to center Crotty.

The Crusaders will now attempt to end a title drought which goes back to 2008 when they won their seventh championship: following those they achieved in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005 and 2006. They remain unbeaten in playoffs matches on their home ground in Christchurch where the Reds haven’t won any game since 1998.

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Crusaders 38 (Ryan Crotty 2, Dan Carter, Tom Marshall tries; Dan Carter 3 conversions, 3 penalties; Tom Taylor penalty), Reds 9 (Quade Cooper 2 penalties). HT: 21-6. – AP