Welcome to Round 5 of FOREIGN EXCHANGES, the place to go for a run down on what happened in this week’s non-Aussie Super Rugby matches.
Round 5 at a glance
- The Hurricanes chalked up their third win in succession, with a strong display against the Kings at home.
- In a close tussle, the Bulls ensured the Sunwolves remain winless.
- The Crusaders handed the Sharks their first loss for the season.
- Strong defence from the Stormers extended the Jaguares losing streak to three in a row.
Hurricanes 42 – 20 Kings
by ‘ozee316’
A crowd of around 15,000 greeted the Kings for their final New Zealand tour match against the in-form Hurricanes, who scored twice early through impressive league convert Ngani Laumape (12) and workhorse Blade Thomson (8).
But the try of the match went to the Kings just before the break. Louis Fouche (10) latched on to a miracle inside ball from Shane Gates (12) and went in under the posts after the Kings broke up field from a turnover on halfway.
The Kings were able to nullify the Hurricanes rolling maul effectively and scramble well on defence to save at least two certain tries. Hooker Marutlulle (2) ran himself off his feet all night, while the midfield of Stefan Watermeyer (13) and Shane Gates (12) would not look out of place in Springbok jerseys.
The Hurricanes were clearly rattled going into the sheds with a narrow two point lead of 19 – 17.
The second stanza was tight and Kings were just 25 – 20 down after 67 minutes and sniffing a boilover. It was not to be, however, with Vincent Aso (22) scoring an acrobatic try in the corner and Beauden Barrett (10) running 60 metres to secure a bonus point for the Canes.
ESPN match details here
Bulls 30 – 27 Sunwolves
by ‘redstragic’
It’s an old story. The team playing with passion and enterprise losing clutch matches to teams playing dour percentage football. The Sunwolves will learn to control their enthusiasm. They will play with more discipline and they will win a Super rugby match sooner rather than later, just not this day.
The Sunwolves started in a hurry with a try to flanker Andrew Durutalo in the first two minutes. Flyhalf, Tusi Pisi, converted the try and a penalty soon afterwards. But for the rest of the half they were on the defensive, gave away ten penalties and Tomas Leonardi (8) was sent to the bin.
The Bulls lead 16 – 10 at halftime, thanks to the boot of Tiaan Schoeman (10) and a try to Adriaan Struass (2).
Up 23 – 10 shortly after half-time with a try to Jason Jenkins (4), the Bulls should have put the Japanese team away, but let them back in and the Sunwolves got to within three points thanks to an outstanding try to winger Akihito Yamada.
The Bulls then gave themselves some important breathing space with a try under the sticks to Jamba Ulengo (14).
Showing the passion and enthusiasm that will win many fans, the Sunwolves finished on a high with a try to halfback Yuki Yatomi, but it wasn’t enough.
ESPN match details here
Crusaders 19 – 14 Sharks
by ‘TheBigDog’
A beautiful day in Durban meant the crowd was in for some brilliant running rugby when the Crusaders made the trip to meet the undefeated Sharks at Kings Park Stadium.
The first half was an intense affair as neither side were giving an inch, despite some great side-to-side ball movement and phase play. It wasn’t until the 25th minute that the Crusaders broke a spirited Sharks defence with a try to fullback David Havili. The Sharks countered soon after though with Lwazi Mvovo (11) grabbing the first of his two tries to close out the half leaving the score 7-7.
Mvovo managed to cross again early in the second half after scooping on a loose ball and darted 40 metres to give the Sharks a lead. But it wouldn’t be held for long. Some brilliant finishing led to Nemani Nadolo (11) scoring in the corner for the Crusaders. The conversion was missed from the sideline leaving the score 14-12 with about 20 minutes left to play.
As he has done so many times before, Kieran Reid (8) became the man of the moment and scored a late try which was converted by Nadolo, leaving a final score of 19-14 to the Crusaders and giving the Sharks their first loss of the season.
ESPN match details here
Stormers 13 – 8 Jaguares
by Marcelo Cardozo
The Jaguares suffered a new low in Super Rugby at the hands of a South African side that, with few points, overcame them.
Kurt Coleman (10) scored the first six points for the Stormers with two penalties and Nicolas Sanchez (10) kicked one for the Jaguares. Then, minutes later, the Argie fly-half received a yellow card and the Stormers took advantage of the numerical mismatch with a try to Cheslin Kolbe (15).
Despite the African dominance, the Jaguares followed up with a try by Jeronimo De la Fuente (12) at the end of the first half, following a Sanchez break.
Sanchez, who suffered a strong blow to his head in the first half, and his replacement Santiago González Iglesias, missed important penalty goal attempts in the second half. Tomas Lezana (7) also bombed a try after knocking on in the opposition in-goal.
The Jaguares were a very limited side playing against an opponent who couldn’t find the ball but were very good in defence. The Jaguares now face a hard road ahead, with matches against the Blues, Crusaders and Hurricanes in New Zealand, followed by the Sunwolves in Japan.
ESPN match details here
Round 6 – crucial matches
Lions v Crusaders – Saturday 2 April: Fresh from a week off and playing at home, the Lions will be looking at bringing the Crusaders unbeaten run of three on the hop to an end.
Kings v Sunwolves – Saturday 2 April: This could represent the best opportunity for new franchise, the Sunwolves, to record their first win in the comp, as they face fellow cellar-dwellers, the Kings.
