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Canes v Cats
The Hurricanes did it again, putting in another performance mixing brilliance with average to eventually over-run the Cats 29-16 in their Rebel Sport Super 14 match in Wellington on Friday night.
But it took a last gasp try from Isaia Toeava to clinch the vital bonus point and ease some of the pain of a sloppy second half effort.
That was in contrast to the finishing power of their first 40 minutes where Lome Fa'atau got a brace of tries and tireless flanker Chris Masoe another.
The Hurricanes will head off to South Africa for three matches now, comfortable with maximum points from the opening three rounds.
There is a quiet confidence in Colin Cooper's side now and with their track record offshore pretty good, there is every reason to believe they can forge on from here in the coming weeks.
And, despite three big wins, there is still plenty of room for improvement, particularly with consistency from their forwards.
Cooper and his coaching staff will see that as a real positive as they eye the points tabale where they find themselves top of the ladder despite their inconsistencies.
This was far from a total performance by the Hurricanes but it was more than enough to see off the Cats.
The Hurricanes went through a worrying flat spell in the middle of the first half that was bookended by some stunning scoring action.
They had another struggling period in the second spell where their lineout lost its rhythm to hamper a couple of decent scoring chances.
But they produced plenty of aggressive defence throughout from Rodney So'oialo, Chris Masoe and Tana Umaga in a match that had a fair bit of niggle to it.
The Cats lost flyhalf Tiaan Snyman to a head injury in the opening minutes and lacked much direction in their backline from there with fullback Earl Rose moving up to the playmaker's role.
Rose was one of many who produced some aimless kicking to simply hand back possession to the Hurricanes. That's a suicidal approach given the Canes' strikepower.
The Cats did manage to cross the line for the first time this season but despite some good work in the forwards there was no chance of a repeat of last week's victory over the Chiefs.
Jason Eaton continues to look increasingly comfortable in his first season of Super rugby. He was into everything again on Friday night, causing turnovers in the loose, being safe at lineout time and snaffling some Cats ball too as the Canes pack went up a gear in the second spell.
Piri Weepu continued his good start to the year before he was spelled with an ankle niggle. And the Hurricanes got a typically honest effort out of veteran first five-eighths David Holwell.
Fa'atau confirmed himself as one of the deadliest finishers in the competition and young Toeava is getting better with each outing at this level.
Fast Start
The Hurricanes made another fast start with a long pass from Ma'a Nonu finding fullback Toeava ranging up into the backline and he squeezed a good ball to Fa'atau for the finishing touch.
The Cats started to make some impact up front and worked their way into Hurricanes territory. They got a penalty from the boot of Rose and then constructed a clever try with Springboks halfback Enrico Januarie breaking down the blindside and finding centre Grant Esterhuizen for the Cats' first touchdown of the season.
The Cats started to take control from there but couldn't find any more points despite their abundant field position.
And when the Hurricanes eventually worked their way to the Cats' line just short of halftime, they showed the finishing power that characterises their side when they had the powerful Masoe diving over a ruck after the first charge at the line from Andrew Hore had fallen just short.
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Piri Weepu fires out a pass© Getty Images
From the restart the devastating Hurricanes scoring abilities were revealed again when a Holwell clearing kick back to halfway bounced off a Cats player's shoulder and Fa'atau gathered it up to sprint to the line and a nine-point lead at the break.
Holwell and Rose traded penalties early in the second spell but then scoring tries became too difficult as handling errors crept into both sides and the defences stepped up.
A late penalty from Rose looked to earn the Cats a deserved bonus point.
But they went to sleep with the final play of the night when replacement flyhalf Jimmy Gopperth put in a clever cross kick that Toeava collected to score and instead earn the Hurricanes their bonus point touchdown.
Cats captain Wikus van Heerden was tireless for his side. And while there was no lack of spirit from the visitors, there wasn't enough imagination with their attack considering how much possession they enjoyed for long spells.
With nothing to show from this effort they will remain the bottom-placed South African side in their worrying internal struggle to avoid relegation.
The Cats move on to play the Brumbies in Canberra next weekend in what will be another difficult assignment.
The Hurricanes fly out to Bloemfontein where they will meet the Cheetahs.
Hurricanes 29: Lome Fa'atau 2, Chris Masoe, Isaia Toeava tries; David Holwell 2 con, pen; Jimmy Gopperth con.
Cats 16: Grant Esterhuizen try; Earl Rose con, 3 pen.
HT: 19-10
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The Stormers held off a spirited comeback from the Brumbies to claim a dogged 15-all draw in the Rebel Sport Super 14 match in Cape Town.
The Canberra-based Brumbies had the moral victory by scoring two tries while the Stormers' points all came from the boot of flyhalf Peter Grant, who landed five penalties.
Although the home team enjoyed the greater share of possession and territory they never looked like piercing the Brumbies defence.
The result moved the Brumbies to third in the standings on 10 points after three away games following victories over the Western Force and the Bulls.
The Stormers, without a win over the Brumbies since 1998, moved to seven points.
Despite having less possession the Brumbies looked more dangerous and should have won the game had they not made several uncharacteristic handling and option-taking mistakes.
The first half saw the Brumbies squander two try scoring opportunities, which left them trailing the home team by six points at the break.
In the 30th minute fullback Adam Ashley-Cooper had an unopposed Clyde Rathbone outside him with a clear run to the tryline but he chose to hold onto the ball instead of pass. From the ruck the Stormers were able to escape their own 22-metre area.
Earlier Rathbone had one man to beat but chose the wrong option and was heavily tackled from behind by flanker Schalk Burger five metres from the line.
The South Africans' committed and at times, scrambling defence that kept the Brumbies at bay until midway through the second half.
Grant stretched the lead with a penalty in the 45th minute and another in the 50th before the Brumbies made a late surge for victory.
Lock Alistair Campbell drove over the line in the 52nd minute to after a long build-up and 12 minutes later Ashley-Cooper atoned for his earlier mistake with a try in the right hand corner.
The Brumbies, with six championship points from their South African campaign, head home to host the Cats in the fourth round while the Stormers face the Highlanders at Newlands.
Stormers 15: Peter Grant 5 pen.
Brumbies 15: Alistair Campbell, Adam Ashley-Cooper tries; Mark Gerrad con, Stirling Mortlock pen.
HT: 9-3
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The Chiefs are on the board, accounting for John Mitchell's Western Force 26-9 in Perth in a Friday night Super 14 fixture for their first win of the new season. And that was probably the sum total of the positives from a dire contest.
There will be a good degree of relief from Jono Gibbes and his men that they've at last been able to register a win, but it was so scratchy, and so unconvincing against opposition that was mismatched from go to woe, it's hard to imagine the boys from Hamilton exactly hitting the tiles afterwards in celebration.
In fact if the Chiefs play like this the rest of the way, it's no stretch to say they might struggle to win again. This really was a rugby version of Numb and Number, it was such ordinary fare. The excellent crowd of 29,239, many of them new to this code, must have wondered why they'd bothered.
And it was an indictment on the Chiefs that they were unable to press on and register a fourth try and grab the bonus point from a contest they dominated in fairly emphatic fashion. Their third score, to fullbck Mils Muliaina, came with still 18 minutes left on the clock.
But both execution as well as gumption was lacking thereafter from a Chiefs side that lost all semblance of their shape. They had the benefit of 29 missed tackles from their generous opposition, and to score just the three tries was really a disgrace.
After a pretty ordinary opening 40 minutes, during which neither side really covered themselves with any glory, the Chiefs held a 14-9 lead.
But given the surfeit of possession Gibbes and his pack were able to win, and the field position they were able to establish, the four-point led was a paltry return for a period of fairly significant dominance.
The Chiefs weren't helped by a fairly wobbly display of goalkicking from an increasingly shaky Stephen Donald who missed half of his six shots at goal for the spell. Watching him striking it, you couldn't help but think of a lame duck with its wing shot off. Except that the creature would probably have flown straighter.
The only try of the spell came 23 minutes in when - Eureka! - the Chiefs decided to ship some quality ball wide towards the left wing where lurks the best finisher possibly in the world game. Muliaina provided a trademark timed run into the line and hit Sitiveni Sivivatu with a perfect pass in the tackle.
The All Black winger still had some work to do but his combination of pace and low body position left the grasping Force defence with too much to do.
Other than that piece of clinical finishing, it was three penalties apiece and some pretty dour fare. The Chiefs lineout was off the mark and given the fairly transparently limited nature of the Force, Ian Foster would not have been happy at all about a fairly tenuous halftime lead.
Donald, who has completely lost his confidence, had another penalty miss early in the second spell, and he was thankfully pulled from proceedings soon after Mark Ranby's try that opened the Chiefs out to a 21-9 lead that finally killed off any slim hopes of a Force upset.
It wasn't a bad effort either, a poor kick from Mitchell's side punished by a brilliant Sosene Anesi-Sivivatu return combination, with Marty Holah's setup and some nice hands from Donald putting Ranby across.
Nine minutes later Muliaina had the third of the night, Anesi's introduction into the line creating the opening off a slick piece of play from a lineout grab off the top.
Sadly, for those supporting the Chiefs, that was that, with the extra point going begging as two pretty ordinary sides played out a stalemate thereafter.
Hooker Aleki Lutui got some good go-forward for the Chiefs, but his lineout throwing was shocking. Gibbes got through a solid return to the starting lineup, but nothing more and Sione Lauaki never really got the dominance he's capable of. Sivivatu showed a glimpse of the form that made him the world's best winger in 2005 and Sam Tuitupou hit hard, whether it was on defence or attack.
The Force offered little of real substance, their high missed tackle count and woeful kicking of the ball out of hand suggesting things are on the verge of getting ugly. Their game is sadly one-dimensional and it's an aspect of their opponents the Chiefs will be wise to bear in mind as they contemplate their first win of the campaign.
Western Force 9: Cameron Shepherd 3 pen.
Chiefs 26: Sitiveni Sivivatu, Mark Ranby, Mils Muliaina tries; Stephen Donald 3 pen, con. Ht: 9-14.
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The Highlanders summoned an exhilarating piece of wet weather brilliance late in the match to grab a crucial 17-12 Rebel Sport Super 14 victory over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.
In wet and miserable conditions, it was always going to be a tight encounter on the high veldt at Vodacom Park, and so it proved as the Highlanders scored two tries without reply, but had to produce a snapshot of magic late in proceedings to snatch their second victory of the season against the competition new boys.
Anton Oliver's side had led 7-3 at the break, Roy Kinikinilau's try just before the break the decisive movement of an opening 40 minutes dominated by the visitors.
But it had looked as though all their endeavour might be for nought in the second spell as the Cheetahs worked their way back into the match and hit the lead with a dozen minutes remaining as Meyer Bosman landed his fourth penalty of the match.
But on the 36-minute mark, with the Highlanders needing something special to grab a crucial away victory, the trick was plucked out of the hat via a scintillating back move that saw substitute Richard Kahui finish in the left corner.
It all started via a nice lineout win off the top, slick handling putting Roy Kinikinilau into some space on the left wing. The big draft player then slipped a peach of an inside ball to Ben Blair and when substitute flanker Tim Boys steamed up splendidly in support to pop a wonderful ball up off the deck, Kahui was on hand to provide the finish to an exhilarating move.
It capped a pretty satisfying outing for the Highlanders who made all the play in the opening 40, weathered the home storm in the second and deserved the victory if only because they had produced the best rugby in the atrocious conditions.
After a testing opening 40 minutes which they generally dominated the Highlanders were well worthy of the 7-3 lead they took into the sheds at halftime.
It had been, if anything, an opening spell of lost opportunities for Anton Oliver's men who missed three kickable penalties and failed to cash in on a numerical advantage for 10 minutes when Cheetahs skipper Juan Smith was sinbinned for a dangerous tackle.
And it did take, despite their dominance in territory and possession, the full 40 minutes of the opening stanza for the Highlanders to finally make the breakthrough and respond to Bosman's penalty late in the piece.
Dominated Opening Spell
But when the opening did come it was a beaut from the Highlanders. The visitors had won the scrum put-in and from a nicely executed move centre Neil Brew sliced through off a short ball from Seilala Mapusua, Blair was on hand to provide the continuity and Kinikinilau finished it in the corner for his second touchdown in two weeks. Blair added the conversion from the sideline.
It was, it has to be said, no less than the Highlanders deserved as they dominated the ebb and flow of the opening spell. They had put real pressure on a creaky Cheetahs lineout and in the slippery conditions played much the more precision football.
The Cheetahs regained their composure in the second spell and managed to exert enough pressure to earn a succession of penalties, from which Bosman punished the visitors.
But it was Kahui's finishing flourish four minutes from time that decided this match and considering the difficulty of the conditions, it was refreshing to see a match decided by skill and not by the referee's whistle.
The Highlanders forwards collectively provided the platform for the victory, Oliver's lineout throwing excellent all things considered, James Ryan leading the show at the set piece and Filipo Levi making a good fist of his first start of the year at No 8.
Brew was the pick of the Highlanders backs, with his straight running crucial. But Kinikinilau also showed what a gain he has been this season while Blair came through a tough night extremely well.
The Cheetahs kept it fairly simple and kicked a lot, but they showed enough resilience to suggest they're going to contribute plenty to this competition as it unfolds. Smith leads them well, Bosman looks the goods at five-eighth and their pack has plenty of power about it.
All of which makes the Highlanders' win even more commendable. It was a fine start to their three-week stint in the republic.
Cheetahs 12: Meyer Bosman 4 pen.
Highlanders 17: Roy Kinikinilau, Richard Kahui tries; Ben Blair 2 con, Nick Evans dg. Ht: 3-7
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The Blues broke their Brisbane bogy and finally opened their Rebel Sport Super 14 campaign with a dogged 21-20 win over the Reds on Saturday night.
The Blues had never won in Queensland during the Super 12 and after two losses in the expanded competition, this performance reflected their nerves.
It wasn't pretty for most of the match but they came out of it with some championship points to give them a boost before they head to Christchurch next weekend.
The loss left the Reds with three defeats in a row on home soil.
The air of desperation that hung over this match before kick-off looked to have evaporated when both sides made a positive start with a try-fest in the opening few minutes. But as the game got tighter, so did the players and the mistakes that have hampered both sides over the first two rounds returned.
The Blues are struggling in their inside backs. Steve Devine isn't the player he was at halfback and Tasesa Lavea continues to be plagued by inconsistency. He took some poor options in Brisbane and his goalkicking isn't up to this level.
It's criminal that wonder wing Joe Rokocoko didn't get a touch of the ball until the 44th minute and rarely saw it after that.
As for the positives, Troy Flavell made a successful return to Super rugby after his lengthy spell in Japan. He grew into the match and then started to make his presence felt. He put in some good tackles, took the ball up well a few times and snared his share of ball down the back of the lineout.
Big No 8 Nick Williams continues to grow his performance each week and skipper Keven Mealamu was the man to get the momentum going up front, especially over the final quarter when the Blues were seeking field position.
Rookie referee JC Fortuin struggled with the pace of play and made some perplexing decisions, particularly at scrum time, that didn't help the flow of the match.
The game had a frantic start with three tries in the opening seven minutes and the Blues ahead 12-5.
Bad Mistake
Reds fullback and skipper Chris Latham made a rare mistake under the high ball when he failed to take a Lavea bomb. Rua Tipoki was there to gather the loose ball and dash to the posts.
The Reds hit back immediately with flyhalf Berrick Barnes squeezing over.
Then the Blues secured a turnover and fed the ball wide where centre Anthony Tuitavake sent out a sweet pass to Doug Howlett who dived over in the corner for his 50th Super try.
From there the boot dominated and it was the Blues who went to the break 15-14 ahead, probably a fair reflection of play in an extremely tight contest.
The Reds hit the front for the first time early in the second spell when Elton Flatley landed his third penalty.
The Blues went to replacement kicker Isa Nacewa to get them back in front with a handy penalty.
He and Flatley traded further penalties with the Blues clinging to a 20-18 with six minutes left.
They managed to play most of the closing stages in Reds territory to snatch a win they will cherish more for the championship points than their performance.
Robust halfback Sam Cordingly had another big game for the Reds and he could be the man to put the most pressure on Wallaby skipper George Gregan for the test jersey.
The Reds struck more injury problems, particulalry with their front row which never helped the messy scrums.
The Blues now return to New Zealand to face the Crusaders in Christchurch next Saturday.
The Reds play the Chiefs in Hamilton on Friday night.
Blues 21: Rua Tipoki, Doug Howlett tries; Tasesa Lavea con, pen; Isa Nacewa 2 pen.
Reds 20: Berrick Barnes try; Elton Flatley 4 pen; Chris Latham dg
HT: 15-14.
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The Bulls handed the New South Wales Waratahs their first defeat in the 2006 Super 14 with a 26-17 victory at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
The home team dominated the game and slowly ground the opposition down with a powerful display by the forwards before unleashing their runners in the latter stages on Sunday (NZ time).
The win lifted the Bulls to fourth in the standings on 10 points while the Waratahs failed to add to their nine points although they remain in fifth position.
"The win was huge, huge, huge," said Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer.
"There was a lot of pressure on us because if we had lost a second home game it would have placed us under enormous pressure for the rest of the campaign.
"We knew that we had to win by hook or by crook and we showed a lot of character to come through."
There were two tries apiece but Derick Hougaard's boot proved the difference with four penalties as he made the Waratahs pay for their errors.
After surging into a 26-3 lead with a quarter of an hour remaining, the Bulls relaxed and were stunned by two Waratahs tries in the space of two minutes to leave the outcome in doubt until the final seconds.
The Bulls looked to be back to their best after being beaten last week by the Brumbies.
When Bulls centre JP Nel touched down in the 56th minute it was the first try conceded by the Australian side this season.
Five minutes later the Waratahs conceded another. Fullback Peter Hewat failed to control a high kick and spilled the ball into the path of Bulls number eight Jacques Cronje who hacked it forward for wing Bryan Habana to latch on to for a simple try.
In the 66th minute, however, Waratahs flanker Rocky Elsom scored his team's first try when he dived over a mass of bodies on the Bulls line.
Two minutes later, fullback Sam Norton-Knight launched a scintillating counter-attack from inside his own 22 before flipping an outrageous pass to Hewat who ran 30 metres to score. Hewat converted both tries for a personal tally of 12.
The Bulls deservedly held a 12-3 halftime lead thanks to the sure boot of flyhalf Hougaard who slotted four out of four kicks at goal in the first half and with his two conversions notched up 16 points.
Despite their domination in the first half, the Bulls could not find a way through the resolute Waratahs defence even when the visitors were reduced to 14 men in the sixth minute.
Prop Matt Dunning was shown a yellow-card for punching although television replays suggested that he was not the only player involved in a four-man altercation.
The Bulls only managed three points while Dunning was off the pitch. The Waratahs' first points came in the 29th minute when Hewat landed a penalty from 40 metres.
Bulls 26: JP Nel, Bryan Habana tries; Derick Hougaard 2 con, 4 pen.
Waratahs 17: Rocky Elsom, Peter Hewat tries; Hewat 2 con, pen.
HT: 12-3
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Canes v Cats
The Hurricanes did it again, putting in another performance mixing brilliance with average to eventually over-run the Cats 29-16 in their Rebel Sport Super 14 match in Wellington on Friday night.
But it took a last gasp try from Isaia Toeava to clinch the vital bonus point and ease some of the pain of a sloppy second half effort.
That was in contrast to the finishing power of their first 40 minutes where Lome Fa'atau got a brace of tries and tireless flanker Chris Masoe another.
The Hurricanes will head off to South Africa for three matches now, comfortable with maximum points from the opening three rounds.
There is a quiet confidence in Colin Cooper's side now and with their track record offshore pretty good, there is every reason to believe they can forge on from here in the coming weeks.
And, despite three big wins, there is still plenty of room for improvement, particularly with consistency from their forwards.
Cooper and his coaching staff will see that as a real positive as they eye the points tabale where they find themselves top of the ladder despite their inconsistencies.
This was far from a total performance by the Hurricanes but it was more than enough to see off the Cats.
The Hurricanes went through a worrying flat spell in the middle of the first half that was bookended by some stunning scoring action.
They had another struggling period in the second spell where their lineout lost its rhythm to hamper a couple of decent scoring chances.
But they produced plenty of aggressive defence throughout from Rodney So'oialo, Chris Masoe and Tana Umaga in a match that had a fair bit of niggle to it.
The Cats lost flyhalf Tiaan Snyman to a head injury in the opening minutes and lacked much direction in their backline from there with fullback Earl Rose moving up to the playmaker's role.
Rose was one of many who produced some aimless kicking to simply hand back possession to the Hurricanes. That's a suicidal approach given the Canes' strikepower.
The Cats did manage to cross the line for the first time this season but despite some good work in the forwards there was no chance of a repeat of last week's victory over the Chiefs.
Jason Eaton continues to look increasingly comfortable in his first season of Super rugby. He was into everything again on Friday night, causing turnovers in the loose, being safe at lineout time and snaffling some Cats ball too as the Canes pack went up a gear in the second spell.
Piri Weepu continued his good start to the year before he was spelled with an ankle niggle. And the Hurricanes got a typically honest effort out of veteran first five-eighths David Holwell.
Fa'atau confirmed himself as one of the deadliest finishers in the competition and young Toeava is getting better with each outing at this level.
Fast Start
The Hurricanes made another fast start with a long pass from Ma'a Nonu finding fullback Toeava ranging up into the backline and he squeezed a good ball to Fa'atau for the finishing touch.
The Cats started to make some impact up front and worked their way into Hurricanes territory. They got a penalty from the boot of Rose and then constructed a clever try with Springboks halfback Enrico Januarie breaking down the blindside and finding centre Grant Esterhuizen for the Cats' first touchdown of the season.
The Cats started to take control from there but couldn't find any more points despite their abundant field position.
And when the Hurricanes eventually worked their way to the Cats' line just short of halftime, they showed the finishing power that characterises their side when they had the powerful Masoe diving over a ruck after the first charge at the line from Andrew Hore had fallen just short.
Piri Weepu fires out a pass© Getty Images
From the restart the devastating Hurricanes scoring abilities were revealed again when a Holwell clearing kick back to halfway bounced off a Cats player's shoulder and Fa'atau gathered it up to sprint to the line and a nine-point lead at the break.
Holwell and Rose traded penalties early in the second spell but then scoring tries became too difficult as handling errors crept into both sides and the defences stepped up.
A late penalty from Rose looked to earn the Cats a deserved bonus point.
But they went to sleep with the final play of the night when replacement flyhalf Jimmy Gopperth put in a clever cross kick that Toeava collected to score and instead earn the Hurricanes their bonus point touchdown.
Cats captain Wikus van Heerden was tireless for his side. And while there was no lack of spirit from the visitors, there wasn't enough imagination with their attack considering how much possession they enjoyed for long spells.
With nothing to show from this effort they will remain the bottom-placed South African side in their worrying internal struggle to avoid relegation.
The Cats move on to play the Brumbies in Canberra next weekend in what will be another difficult assignment.
The Hurricanes fly out to Bloemfontein where they will meet the Cheetahs.
Hurricanes 29: Lome Fa'atau 2, Chris Masoe, Isaia Toeava tries; David Holwell 2 con, pen; Jimmy Gopperth con.
Cats 16: Grant Esterhuizen try; Earl Rose con, 3 pen.
HT: 19-10
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The Stormers held off a spirited comeback from the Brumbies to claim a dogged 15-all draw in the Rebel Sport Super 14 match in Cape Town.
The Canberra-based Brumbies had the moral victory by scoring two tries while the Stormers' points all came from the boot of flyhalf Peter Grant, who landed five penalties.
Although the home team enjoyed the greater share of possession and territory they never looked like piercing the Brumbies defence.
The result moved the Brumbies to third in the standings on 10 points after three away games following victories over the Western Force and the Bulls.
The Stormers, without a win over the Brumbies since 1998, moved to seven points.
Despite having less possession the Brumbies looked more dangerous and should have won the game had they not made several uncharacteristic handling and option-taking mistakes.
The first half saw the Brumbies squander two try scoring opportunities, which left them trailing the home team by six points at the break.
In the 30th minute fullback Adam Ashley-Cooper had an unopposed Clyde Rathbone outside him with a clear run to the tryline but he chose to hold onto the ball instead of pass. From the ruck the Stormers were able to escape their own 22-metre area.
Earlier Rathbone had one man to beat but chose the wrong option and was heavily tackled from behind by flanker Schalk Burger five metres from the line.
The South Africans' committed and at times, scrambling defence that kept the Brumbies at bay until midway through the second half.
Grant stretched the lead with a penalty in the 45th minute and another in the 50th before the Brumbies made a late surge for victory.
Lock Alistair Campbell drove over the line in the 52nd minute to after a long build-up and 12 minutes later Ashley-Cooper atoned for his earlier mistake with a try in the right hand corner.
The Brumbies, with six championship points from their South African campaign, head home to host the Cats in the fourth round while the Stormers face the Highlanders at Newlands.
Stormers 15: Peter Grant 5 pen.
Brumbies 15: Alistair Campbell, Adam Ashley-Cooper tries; Mark Gerrad con, Stirling Mortlock pen.
HT: 9-3
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The Chiefs are on the board, accounting for John Mitchell's Western Force 26-9 in Perth in a Friday night Super 14 fixture for their first win of the new season. And that was probably the sum total of the positives from a dire contest.
There will be a good degree of relief from Jono Gibbes and his men that they've at last been able to register a win, but it was so scratchy, and so unconvincing against opposition that was mismatched from go to woe, it's hard to imagine the boys from Hamilton exactly hitting the tiles afterwards in celebration.
In fact if the Chiefs play like this the rest of the way, it's no stretch to say they might struggle to win again. This really was a rugby version of Numb and Number, it was such ordinary fare. The excellent crowd of 29,239, many of them new to this code, must have wondered why they'd bothered.
And it was an indictment on the Chiefs that they were unable to press on and register a fourth try and grab the bonus point from a contest they dominated in fairly emphatic fashion. Their third score, to fullbck Mils Muliaina, came with still 18 minutes left on the clock.
But both execution as well as gumption was lacking thereafter from a Chiefs side that lost all semblance of their shape. They had the benefit of 29 missed tackles from their generous opposition, and to score just the three tries was really a disgrace.
After a pretty ordinary opening 40 minutes, during which neither side really covered themselves with any glory, the Chiefs held a 14-9 lead.
But given the surfeit of possession Gibbes and his pack were able to win, and the field position they were able to establish, the four-point led was a paltry return for a period of fairly significant dominance.
The Chiefs weren't helped by a fairly wobbly display of goalkicking from an increasingly shaky Stephen Donald who missed half of his six shots at goal for the spell. Watching him striking it, you couldn't help but think of a lame duck with its wing shot off. Except that the creature would probably have flown straighter.
The only try of the spell came 23 minutes in when - Eureka! - the Chiefs decided to ship some quality ball wide towards the left wing where lurks the best finisher possibly in the world game. Muliaina provided a trademark timed run into the line and hit Sitiveni Sivivatu with a perfect pass in the tackle.
The All Black winger still had some work to do but his combination of pace and low body position left the grasping Force defence with too much to do.
Other than that piece of clinical finishing, it was three penalties apiece and some pretty dour fare. The Chiefs lineout was off the mark and given the fairly transparently limited nature of the Force, Ian Foster would not have been happy at all about a fairly tenuous halftime lead.
Donald, who has completely lost his confidence, had another penalty miss early in the second spell, and he was thankfully pulled from proceedings soon after Mark Ranby's try that opened the Chiefs out to a 21-9 lead that finally killed off any slim hopes of a Force upset.
It wasn't a bad effort either, a poor kick from Mitchell's side punished by a brilliant Sosene Anesi-Sivivatu return combination, with Marty Holah's setup and some nice hands from Donald putting Ranby across.
Nine minutes later Muliaina had the third of the night, Anesi's introduction into the line creating the opening off a slick piece of play from a lineout grab off the top.
Sadly, for those supporting the Chiefs, that was that, with the extra point going begging as two pretty ordinary sides played out a stalemate thereafter.
Hooker Aleki Lutui got some good go-forward for the Chiefs, but his lineout throwing was shocking. Gibbes got through a solid return to the starting lineup, but nothing more and Sione Lauaki never really got the dominance he's capable of. Sivivatu showed a glimpse of the form that made him the world's best winger in 2005 and Sam Tuitupou hit hard, whether it was on defence or attack.
The Force offered little of real substance, their high missed tackle count and woeful kicking of the ball out of hand suggesting things are on the verge of getting ugly. Their game is sadly one-dimensional and it's an aspect of their opponents the Chiefs will be wise to bear in mind as they contemplate their first win of the campaign.
Western Force 9: Cameron Shepherd 3 pen.
Chiefs 26: Sitiveni Sivivatu, Mark Ranby, Mils Muliaina tries; Stephen Donald 3 pen, con. Ht: 9-14.
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The Highlanders summoned an exhilarating piece of wet weather brilliance late in the match to grab a crucial 17-12 Rebel Sport Super 14 victory over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.
In wet and miserable conditions, it was always going to be a tight encounter on the high veldt at Vodacom Park, and so it proved as the Highlanders scored two tries without reply, but had to produce a snapshot of magic late in proceedings to snatch their second victory of the season against the competition new boys.
Anton Oliver's side had led 7-3 at the break, Roy Kinikinilau's try just before the break the decisive movement of an opening 40 minutes dominated by the visitors.
But it had looked as though all their endeavour might be for nought in the second spell as the Cheetahs worked their way back into the match and hit the lead with a dozen minutes remaining as Meyer Bosman landed his fourth penalty of the match.
But on the 36-minute mark, with the Highlanders needing something special to grab a crucial away victory, the trick was plucked out of the hat via a scintillating back move that saw substitute Richard Kahui finish in the left corner.
It all started via a nice lineout win off the top, slick handling putting Roy Kinikinilau into some space on the left wing. The big draft player then slipped a peach of an inside ball to Ben Blair and when substitute flanker Tim Boys steamed up splendidly in support to pop a wonderful ball up off the deck, Kahui was on hand to provide the finish to an exhilarating move.
It capped a pretty satisfying outing for the Highlanders who made all the play in the opening 40, weathered the home storm in the second and deserved the victory if only because they had produced the best rugby in the atrocious conditions.
After a testing opening 40 minutes which they generally dominated the Highlanders were well worthy of the 7-3 lead they took into the sheds at halftime.
It had been, if anything, an opening spell of lost opportunities for Anton Oliver's men who missed three kickable penalties and failed to cash in on a numerical advantage for 10 minutes when Cheetahs skipper Juan Smith was sinbinned for a dangerous tackle.
And it did take, despite their dominance in territory and possession, the full 40 minutes of the opening stanza for the Highlanders to finally make the breakthrough and respond to Bosman's penalty late in the piece.
Dominated Opening Spell
But when the opening did come it was a beaut from the Highlanders. The visitors had won the scrum put-in and from a nicely executed move centre Neil Brew sliced through off a short ball from Seilala Mapusua, Blair was on hand to provide the continuity and Kinikinilau finished it in the corner for his second touchdown in two weeks. Blair added the conversion from the sideline.
It was, it has to be said, no less than the Highlanders deserved as they dominated the ebb and flow of the opening spell. They had put real pressure on a creaky Cheetahs lineout and in the slippery conditions played much the more precision football.
The Cheetahs regained their composure in the second spell and managed to exert enough pressure to earn a succession of penalties, from which Bosman punished the visitors.
But it was Kahui's finishing flourish four minutes from time that decided this match and considering the difficulty of the conditions, it was refreshing to see a match decided by skill and not by the referee's whistle.
The Highlanders forwards collectively provided the platform for the victory, Oliver's lineout throwing excellent all things considered, James Ryan leading the show at the set piece and Filipo Levi making a good fist of his first start of the year at No 8.
Brew was the pick of the Highlanders backs, with his straight running crucial. But Kinikinilau also showed what a gain he has been this season while Blair came through a tough night extremely well.
The Cheetahs kept it fairly simple and kicked a lot, but they showed enough resilience to suggest they're going to contribute plenty to this competition as it unfolds. Smith leads them well, Bosman looks the goods at five-eighth and their pack has plenty of power about it.
All of which makes the Highlanders' win even more commendable. It was a fine start to their three-week stint in the republic.
Cheetahs 12: Meyer Bosman 4 pen.
Highlanders 17: Roy Kinikinilau, Richard Kahui tries; Ben Blair 2 con, Nick Evans dg. Ht: 3-7
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The Blues broke their Brisbane bogy and finally opened their Rebel Sport Super 14 campaign with a dogged 21-20 win over the Reds on Saturday night.
The Blues had never won in Queensland during the Super 12 and after two losses in the expanded competition, this performance reflected their nerves.
It wasn't pretty for most of the match but they came out of it with some championship points to give them a boost before they head to Christchurch next weekend.
The loss left the Reds with three defeats in a row on home soil.
The air of desperation that hung over this match before kick-off looked to have evaporated when both sides made a positive start with a try-fest in the opening few minutes. But as the game got tighter, so did the players and the mistakes that have hampered both sides over the first two rounds returned.
The Blues are struggling in their inside backs. Steve Devine isn't the player he was at halfback and Tasesa Lavea continues to be plagued by inconsistency. He took some poor options in Brisbane and his goalkicking isn't up to this level.
It's criminal that wonder wing Joe Rokocoko didn't get a touch of the ball until the 44th minute and rarely saw it after that.
As for the positives, Troy Flavell made a successful return to Super rugby after his lengthy spell in Japan. He grew into the match and then started to make his presence felt. He put in some good tackles, took the ball up well a few times and snared his share of ball down the back of the lineout.
Big No 8 Nick Williams continues to grow his performance each week and skipper Keven Mealamu was the man to get the momentum going up front, especially over the final quarter when the Blues were seeking field position.
Rookie referee JC Fortuin struggled with the pace of play and made some perplexing decisions, particularly at scrum time, that didn't help the flow of the match.
The game had a frantic start with three tries in the opening seven minutes and the Blues ahead 12-5.
Bad Mistake
Reds fullback and skipper Chris Latham made a rare mistake under the high ball when he failed to take a Lavea bomb. Rua Tipoki was there to gather the loose ball and dash to the posts.
The Reds hit back immediately with flyhalf Berrick Barnes squeezing over.
Then the Blues secured a turnover and fed the ball wide where centre Anthony Tuitavake sent out a sweet pass to Doug Howlett who dived over in the corner for his 50th Super try.
From there the boot dominated and it was the Blues who went to the break 15-14 ahead, probably a fair reflection of play in an extremely tight contest.
The Reds hit the front for the first time early in the second spell when Elton Flatley landed his third penalty.
The Blues went to replacement kicker Isa Nacewa to get them back in front with a handy penalty.
He and Flatley traded further penalties with the Blues clinging to a 20-18 with six minutes left.
They managed to play most of the closing stages in Reds territory to snatch a win they will cherish more for the championship points than their performance.
Robust halfback Sam Cordingly had another big game for the Reds and he could be the man to put the most pressure on Wallaby skipper George Gregan for the test jersey.
The Reds struck more injury problems, particulalry with their front row which never helped the messy scrums.
The Blues now return to New Zealand to face the Crusaders in Christchurch next Saturday.
The Reds play the Chiefs in Hamilton on Friday night.
Blues 21: Rua Tipoki, Doug Howlett tries; Tasesa Lavea con, pen; Isa Nacewa 2 pen.
Reds 20: Berrick Barnes try; Elton Flatley 4 pen; Chris Latham dg
HT: 15-14.
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The Bulls handed the New South Wales Waratahs their first defeat in the 2006 Super 14 with a 26-17 victory at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
The home team dominated the game and slowly ground the opposition down with a powerful display by the forwards before unleashing their runners in the latter stages on Sunday (NZ time).
The win lifted the Bulls to fourth in the standings on 10 points while the Waratahs failed to add to their nine points although they remain in fifth position.
"The win was huge, huge, huge," said Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer.
"There was a lot of pressure on us because if we had lost a second home game it would have placed us under enormous pressure for the rest of the campaign.
"We knew that we had to win by hook or by crook and we showed a lot of character to come through."
There were two tries apiece but Derick Hougaard's boot proved the difference with four penalties as he made the Waratahs pay for their errors.
After surging into a 26-3 lead with a quarter of an hour remaining, the Bulls relaxed and were stunned by two Waratahs tries in the space of two minutes to leave the outcome in doubt until the final seconds.
The Bulls looked to be back to their best after being beaten last week by the Brumbies.
When Bulls centre JP Nel touched down in the 56th minute it was the first try conceded by the Australian side this season.
Five minutes later the Waratahs conceded another. Fullback Peter Hewat failed to control a high kick and spilled the ball into the path of Bulls number eight Jacques Cronje who hacked it forward for wing Bryan Habana to latch on to for a simple try.
In the 66th minute, however, Waratahs flanker Rocky Elsom scored his team's first try when he dived over a mass of bodies on the Bulls line.
Two minutes later, fullback Sam Norton-Knight launched a scintillating counter-attack from inside his own 22 before flipping an outrageous pass to Hewat who ran 30 metres to score. Hewat converted both tries for a personal tally of 12.
The Bulls deservedly held a 12-3 halftime lead thanks to the sure boot of flyhalf Hougaard who slotted four out of four kicks at goal in the first half and with his two conversions notched up 16 points.
Despite their domination in the first half, the Bulls could not find a way through the resolute Waratahs defence even when the visitors were reduced to 14 men in the sixth minute.
Prop Matt Dunning was shown a yellow-card for punching although television replays suggested that he was not the only player involved in a four-man altercation.
The Bulls only managed three points while Dunning was off the pitch. The Waratahs' first points came in the 29th minute when Hewat landed a penalty from 40 metres.
Bulls 26: JP Nel, Bryan Habana tries; Derick Hougaard 2 con, 4 pen.
Waratahs 17: Rocky Elsom, Peter Hewat tries; Hewat 2 con, pen.
HT: 12-3
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