1
Lions maintain fine form, Chiefs pushed by Sunwolves
By Christopher Devine
Lions cemented their position at the top of Super Rugby's Africa 2 Conference on Saturday with a battling 24-15 victory over strugglers Western Force.
Although the Force failed to score a try in Perth, their visitors' success was only made certain when Elton Jantjies crossed for his team's third try in the 82nd minute.
Five penalties from Ian Prior had kept the Force in touch despite first-half tries from Lionel Mapoe and Courtnall Skosan for the Lions.
Jantjies' late score, which he converted to finish with a personal haul of 14 points, earned Lions a bonus point as the South African side claimed an eighth win from nine games in 2017. They are now 11 points clear of the second-placed Stormers.
Chiefs were made to work hard for a 27-20 victory over Sunwolves that lifted them to the summit of the New Zealand Conference, ahead of Crusaders' visit to Cheetahs.
Damian McKenzie scored two of Chiefs' four tries, but the gutsy Sunwolves fought back from 20-3 down at the break to earn a deserved bonus point.
Bernard Foley was the hero for Waratahs as they came from behind to edge out Queensland Reds 29-26.
The Tahs were out-scored four tries to two, but snatched victory as Foley kicked his fifth penalty of the match in the 78th minute to finish with 19 points.
Watch every game of Super Rugby streaming live on rugbypass.com, home of the best online rugby coverage including news, highlights, previews & reviews, live scores, and more!
Trending on RugbyPass
2
All Blacks XV player ratings vs Munster
3
Suaalii strikes awe as Wallabies lose midfielder
4
Scott Robertson responds about handling errors
5
Latest Comments
The New Zealand performance in the return fixture in 2016 was filthy. A lot of Irish supporters were pretty shocked by it, viewed it as de facto cheating just to avoid another defeat.
Also shocked by the abuse to Ireland, captain, vice-captain and spectators after the full time whistle in Paris defeat, last match.
Sledging is sledging, but that happens during the game and targetting spectators should be completely out of bounds.
The Irish public used to enjoy these matches, even in defeat. Now they are necessary but unpleasant, because NZ apparently cannot accept or respect successful challengers.
Go to commentsThanks for the analysis Nick, thought provoking as usual. Couple of queries though, in the pic where you've circled Williams bind , I'm pretty sure it shows Stuart's knee on the ground, surely that's a NZ penalty? Also having had the chance to watch it again the All Black scrum seeems to improve after halftime, but before either England or the All Blacks replace their props. Not sure if that was the result of Tuipolutu coming on or some halftime tips. Either way this is only Williams second international season, so he'll be better for the experience.
Go to comments