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Sharks down Blues, Stormers clinch it at the last
By Peter Hanson
The Sharks made it two wins from two in Super Rugby with a convincing 26-7 beating of the Blues, while the Stormers got up and running with a dramatic late twist against the Lions.
After routing Sunwolves a week ago, the Sharks coped better than the Lions in the humid Durban conditions in a match strewn with errors.
It was essentially game over by half-time when Aphelele Fassi, Akker van der Merwe and Robert du Preez tries helped the home side to a 19-0 lead.
Tanielu Tele'a found a gap with 17 minutes left to briefly threaten a Blues fightback, but Curwin Bosch's 80-metre interception try in the closing seconds completed the Sharks' win.
The Stormers suffered a hammering by the Bulls last weekend, but Herschel Jantjies' jinking try in the fifth added minute tied up their South African derby with the Lions in Cape Town.
SP Marais added the extras to seal a 19-17 triumph for a Stormers side that had trailed since the sixth minute to Kwagga Smith's try.
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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.
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