Expected beginning
Canterbury, Otago share Super 12 lead
Posted: Tuesday March 09, 1999 08:11 PM
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Otago Highlanders' Byron Kelleher runs after the Bulls' Hannes Venter in Otago's 65-23 victory Saturday. AP |
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Defending champion Canterbury and early favorite Otago had strong wins to share the lead of the Super 12 rugby championship after two rounds.
Otago, led by All Blacks captain Taine Randell, scored the biggest win so far in the tournament with a 65-23 victory over Northern Bulls.
Canterbury followed up Otago's first round win over Auckland by inflicting the Blues' second straight defeat. The Crusaders' 22-16 win was set up by their All Blacks halves Justin Marshall and Andrew Mehrtens, who kicked 17 points.
The Blues, beaten finalist last year after winning the first two Super 12 titles, lost several stars this season, including giant winger Jonah Lomu, and look far below their best.
Otago's Byron Kelleher, expected to push Marshall for the New Zealand test spot this season, was outstanding and scored two of the Highlanders' nine tries.
Jeremy Stanley also got a brace but the South African team showed strong character to bounce back with four tries in the second half to salvage a bonus point.
"We've never made so many mistakes as we did today," Bulls captain Schutte Bekker said. "We've got to go back to the basics and restart our campaign again after this game."
Otago and Canterbury have both got a bonus point and lead the other unbeaten teams Queensland and the Stormers.
The Reds, expected to struggle without injured Wallaby captain John Eales, came from behind to beat Waikato Chiefs 19-17 at Hamilton, scoring three tries to one.
Fly-half Nathan Spooner had a miserable night with the boot, landing just two from seven attempts at goal while winger Nathan Williams also fell victim to the pressure and rainy conditions, missing his only attempt.
The Stormers scored three tries to two in beating Wellington Hurricanes 24-22, coming back after the hosts led 19-5 at half-time.
New South Wales won its first ever Super 12 match on South African soil with an impressive 39-10 victory over the Golden Cats. The Waratahs' win followed a draw against the Sharks a week earlier and was a great relief for coach Matt Williams.
"We haven't played well in Africa for the last three years," Williams said. "We made history tonight."
Cats coach Andre Markgraaff lamented lost opportunities and said the Waratahs had adapted well to the rulings of referee Paul McFie.
"You have to adapt to the referee and New South Wales did that brilliantly," Markgraaff said. "It was a free for all with players playing the ball on the ground. They played the referee."
ACT Brumbies blew several chances to win their first match in South Africa when the Coastal Sharks beat the Australian outfit 21-16.
"It was definitely our best performance in four years in South Africa and we should have won the game, but we didn't and we've only got ourselves to blame," said ACT coach Eddie Jones said.
Fortified by the return from injury of Springbok stalwarts Henry Honiball and Gary Teichmann, the Sharks prevailed despite test fullback Andre Joubert missing his three first half shots at goal.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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