Welcome to Round 8 of FOREIGN EXCHANGES, the place to go for a run down on what happened in this week’s non-Aussie Super Rugby matches.
Round 8 at a glance
- The Crusaders claimed a bonus point and their sixth win on the trot in a solid display against the Jaguares.
- The Cheetahs nearly racked up a ton in their 14 try win over the hapless Sunwolves.
- The Blues extended the Sharks losing streak to three in a row.
- The Lions proved they are the real deal by knocking off SA leaders the Stormers.
Crusaders 32 – 15 Jaguares
by Brent Craig aka ‘waiopehu oldboy’
The Crusaders extended their winning streak to six matches, while the Jaguares continue to disappoint in their debut season.
Discipline has been a recurring problem for the Jaguares and proved to be again. When fullback Joaquin Tuculet was carded in the 22nd minute, the score was a manageable 3 – 7. He returned to a rather more daunting 3 – 19, with fullback Israel Dagg and 5/8 Richie Mo’unga joining halfback Andy Ellis (4th minute) on the score sheet in his absence.
Half-time: Crusaders 22 – 3 Jaguares.
The Jaguares scored first in the second period with a try to Facundo Isa (8), which was converted. As they have so often, the Crusaders stepped it up several notches in the third quarter. The floodgates threatened to open, but the Jaguares were able to limit the damage to a 59th minute try to No. 8 Kieran Read.
When Dagg scored the Crusaders’ fifth try (the highlight of a pleasing display returning from injury), the score was 32-10 and with just 18 minutes left the Jaguares were never going to be able to bridge the gap.
Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias (12) scored a consolation try in the 76th minute, but it was the home team’s night and their bonus point win was well-deserved.
ESPN match details here
Cheetahs 92 – 17 Sunwolves
by ‘TheBigDog’
The Cheetahs have run rampant in Bloemfontein, thrashing the Sunwolves 92 – 17 in a torrid affair for the new kids on the block.
In an extremely lopsided affair, the Cheetahs ran in 14 tries against the hapless Sunwolves.
It was again a case of class and skill outmatching the Sunwolves, who shared very similar possession and territory statistics, but were only able to manage two tries.
Although the Sunwolves are the cellar dwellers, the Cheetahs put on some great running rugby, breaking the line 10 times and running for nearly 900m, double that of the Sunwolves.
Sergeal Peterson (14) was a standout for the Cheetahs and was a constant attacking threat, crossing the line three times.
It really was a brilliant team performance for the Cheetahs with 10 different players scoring tries and threatening from all over the park.
The question is though, will this result kick them into gear for the remainder of the season? They need to string multiple wins together now to push themselves up the ladder.
As for the Sunwolves, its worrying times ahead for them. Hopefully they have learnt something about the standard of Super Rugby. But as we are seeing with even the Jaguares, the step up in competition is causing some concerns.
ESPN match details here
Blues 23 – 18 Sharks
by ‘Brumby Runner’
Leading into this game, the Blues were at the bottom of the NZ conference, while the Sharks had started the season strongly, being the last of the undefeated sides.
But recent form indicated the match would be close.
The Blues showed good attacking structure early, with Stephen Luatua (8) and Rieko Ioane (14) prominent, and Ihaia West (10) kicked a penalty in the 4th minute. The Sharks struck next with a try to Tendai Mtawirra (1) in the 8th minute after winning a Blues line-out. Then Joe Pietersen (10) raised the flags after a strong scrum earned the Sharks a penalty in the 13th minute.
The match see-sawed until the 30th minute when the Blues were penalised for a late tackle and Pietersen took the three points. Then, with five minutes to go until the break, George Moala, who had only just come on to replace Rene Ranger (13), scored a try after strong work by the Blues and West nailed the conversion.
Half-time: Sharks up 11 – 10.
The Sharks started the second half strongly with Willie LeRoux (15) setting up Paul Jordaan (13) for a 40 metre run to the tryline and the extras were added. But a West penalty goal either side of a long-range try by Rieko Ioane saw the Blues wrap up the game 23 – 19.
ESPN match details here
Lions 29 – 22 Stormers
by ‘qwerty51’
The Lions have continued their impressive start to the season by beating SA conference leaders the Stormers at home. The win was orchestrated by Elton Jantjies (10) who starred with the boot kicking 19 points without miss.
The Lions came looking for tries early, but poor hands let them down and they had to settle for shots at goal. The Stormers were happy to take any points on offer and, after trading penalties, the score was 9-all after 30 minutes.
Like most teams, the Lions found the Stormers defence tough to crack and it took a pin-point Jantjies chip kick to set up the first try to winger Ruan Combrinck in the corner. The Lions went into the break up 16 – 12.
Fifteen minutes into the 2nd, Faf de Klerk (Lions 21) caught the Stormers napping and scored after taking a quick tap from a penalty five metres out.
Soon after, Nic Groom (Stormers 9) offloaded to Siya Kolisi (20) who put on a wicked step to get past Jantjies and score, reducing the margin to just one point.
But Jantjies steered the Lions home with a late penalty and drop goal to seal the win. The Lions now lead Africa 2 and sit only two points behind the Stormers in the SA Group table.
ESPN match details here
Round 9 – crucial matches
Sunwolves v Jaguares – Saturday 23 April 3.15pm AEST: This is one of the Sunwolves best chances to record their first tournament victory.
Kings v Lions – Sunday 24 April 1.10am AEST: If you haven’t watched the Lions play this season, then watch this game. They should run riot.
