| Well, Well, Well. One or two upsets this weekend with the Cheetahs leading that headline by beating the Waratahs and the seemingly out of form Stormers beating the also, out of form, Bulls at Loftus. There is however one consistency in SupeRugby this season and that would be the Canterbury Crusaders. After a slow and unsettling start to the season they have been flexing their muscles ever since. They are by far the team of the tournament so far. Right, let’s jump into the past weekends action: - The Chiefs dished out the first loss of the season to the Sharks team. It was played in wet conditions and was dominated by penalty kicks. The Sharks defended well but let it slip in the second half. 15-9 to the Chiefs.
- The Reds dominated the Rebels in Queensland by running in seven tries, six conversions and two penalties to the one penalty of the Rebels. The Reds were in control from the 9th minute with a try from Anthony Faingaa, after a 5th minute penalty from Danny Cipriani. The Queenslanders move up into third place in the overall standings behind the Crusaders in second and the Stormers on top. Reds run riot 53-3
- The Crusaders moved to the top of the NZ conference with an away win at the Highlanders. The Canterbury outfit ran in six tries to the one from Otago's Adam Thomson. The Highlanders had an opportunity to gain some dominance in the 34th minute when Sam Whitelock received a yellow card. They only however managed to score 3 points in those 10 minutes while conceding 11. Crusaders up 44-13.
- The Auckland Blues sent the out of form Hurricanes packing with a five try to one beating in Auckland. It was a tightly contested match until the 66th minute when the Blues ran in the first of three converted tries to end the match. In all fairness the Hurricanes were a man down as Andrew Hore was keeping a seat in the sin bin warm. Blues 41 -17 Hurricanes
- Besides the Rebels win over ACT, this is by far the surprise of the 2011 season. The Cheetahs break their Aussie losing streak by beating the Waratahs in Sydney….WELL! The Cheetahs were worth all the points they scored as they beat the Sydney based team 23-3. The Waratahs were, honestly, not ever in the game and will have spent the last few days wondering when the nightmare will end. Well done to the Cheetahs
- All South African hearts were hoping the Lions would walk away victorious from the clash with the Western Force in Johannesburg. It was not to be, the Force team were too strong and were in control as early as the 9th minute through a Nick Cummins try. All the Lions had to offer in resistance to the Force’s 2 tries, 5 penalties and a conversion were 4 penalties and a drop goal from the boot of Elton Jantjies.
- There seems to be a changing of the guard in South African rugby at the moment as the Bulls seem strangely off the pace of SupeRugby. They have struggled through the tournament and normally embrace home games as the Fortress that is Loftus is worth a few points before kick off. Not on Saturday though as the Stormers seemed to have more support in Pretoria than the home team. The Stormers finally broke their try drought with a try from winger Bryan Habana who deserved his try. He worked tirelessly and knocked on more than he cares to remember, lets hope he continues to improve and if so the Stormers will be a strong force in this years competition.
There has been a complete shift in the overall and conference tables this week as the sharks move down to 4th overall. The Stormers are on top, Crusaders second and Reds third.
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