Highlanders score four to stun table-topping Sharks

A mid-season loss of form for Super Rugby leaders Coastal Sharks continued on Friday when they suffered a shock 34-18 home loss to Otago Highlanders. The Durban outfit were lucky to defeat fellow South Africans Central Cheetahs last weekend – playing what one newspaper termed "stone age" rugby – but there was no let-off for the Sharks against the energetic New Zealanders. Highlanders combined strong, creative running and impressive field kicking to deadly effect, scoring four tries for a bonus-point triumph at Kings Park after building a 24-12 half-time lead. The team from Dunedin achieved victory despite struggling at scrums and line-outs, where they were repeatedly penalised, and having lock Joe Wheeler sin-binned on 50 minutes. Sharks suffered a major pre-match setback when injury ruled out inspirational skipper Bismarck du Plessis, who is rated the best hooker in the world. Stand-in captain Charl McLeod was too busy duelling with rival scrum-half Aaron Smith to lift a home side guilty of too many handling errors and poor execution of the basics. "We did not execute our game plan, made bad judgments, committed silly mistakes and conceded too many penalties," McLeod said, Among the chief culprits for the Sharks was right wing JP Pietersen, who had a shocker on his return from injury and wasted several try-scoring opportunities. "It was a great win," declared Highlanders number eight Nasi Manu, who shares the captaincy with full-back Ben Smith in a novel approach to on-field leadership. "We knew it would be tough and we fronted up. The guys worked hard for each other and coming to South Africa early helped us overcome time-zone problems." It was the first home defeat this season for the Sharks, whose lead over the Brumbies was cut to one point after the Australians thumped New Zealand’s Waikato Chiefs. Sharks have 31 points, Brumbies 30 and defending champions Chiefs 25, while Highlanders climbed to fifth with 24 after 11 rounds. Right wing Richard Buckman, Aaron Smith, flanker Shane Christie and centre Malakai Fekitoa scored a try each for Otago, and fly-half Lima Sopoaga kicked four conversions and two penalties. Sopoaga did not miss a shot at goal and his 123-point season tally is only one fewer than leading Super Rugby scorer Marnitz Boshoff, fly-half for South Africa’s Golden Lions. England-born Sharks fly-half Tim Swiel, elevated from third choice last weekend after injuries to Patrick Lambie and Fred Zeilinga, succeeded with six of eight penalty attempts. The Durban side took an early 6-3 lead, but Buckman won the race to dot down a grubber kick from centre Shaun Treeby on 18 minutes and Highlanders never trailed again. Swiel’s penalties did keep the Sharks in contention until 13 minutes from time when Highlanders stretched a six-point advantage to 16 within three minutes. Sopoaga slotted a close-range penalty and Fekitoa punished some shocking defending in a 40-metre run for a converted try. In Canberra on Friday, the Brumbies ran in five tries in an impressive 41-23 bonus-point win over the Chiefs. The Brumbies dominated the back-to-back champions to lead 36-9 after 63 minutes with 18 straight points, while Chiefs replacement James Lowe was given a yellow card for tripping. The Chiefs hit back with two late converted tries to reduce the final margin. Try doubles to man-of-the-match Matt Toomua and centre Tevita Kuridrani helped sink the Chiefs, while winger Joe Tomane showed great hands to score in the corner. “It’s an outstanding result for us,” said Brumbies captain Ben Mowen. “We wanted a complete 80 minutes, so for us to do that tonight was really pleasing for the team.” “Hats off the backline guys because they were excellent. Matt Toomua at number 10 was really good.” Chiefs skipper Liam Messam said errors and ill-discipline proved costly for his team. “We made some basic errors with the football. Our discipline is letting us down along with basic handling errors,” Messam said. “But full credit to the Brumbies. They really stuck it to us and piled on the pressure.”

Highlanders score four to stun table-topping Sharks

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Five-try Brumbies close the gap on out-of-form Durban outfit with a bonus-point win against Chiefs

Five-try Brumbies close the gap on out-of-form Durban outfit with a bonus-point win against Chiefs