It was a good round for away teams in Super Rugby, with the Sunwolves, Crusaders, Bulls, Rebels and Chiefs all winning on the road.
Here is the Super Rugby wrap for round seven.
HURRICANES VS CRUSADERS
David Havili capitalised on Hurricanes’ errors to score two tries as the Crusaders recorded a comfortable 32-8 victory in a stop-start Super Rugby match on Friday.
Will Jordan and Braydon Ennor also crossed for the visitors who moved to 24 points on the table, giving themselves some breathing room ahead of the Hurricanes (19) at the top of the New Zealand conference.
Ngani Laumape scored the Hurricanes’ only try in the match in which both sides committed numerous errors while the Crusaders defence forced several turnovers when the hosts were on attack.
There could be some concerns for All Blacks coach Steve Hansen as captain Kieran Read was replaced at halftime with a knee injury after about 20 minutes.
RESULT
Hurricanes 8
Tries: Laumape
Pens: J Barrett
Crusaders 32
Tries: Havili 2, Jordan, , Ennor
Cons: Mo’unga 3
Pens: Mo’unga 2
Yellow card: Matt Todd
WARATAHS VS SUNWOLVES
Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson says he has no regrets over resting three Wallabies on Friday night despite a 31-29 loss to the Sunwolves.
Only six days ago, it was NSW who were the giant killers, with a 20-12 win over the Crusaders, but on Friday they were brought soundly back to earth by a Sunwolves side that pounced on Waratahs errors and took their opportunities in attack.
The Sunwolves threat was one of which the Waratahs were acutely aware after a 31-30 win in Tokyo in round two but where they held out a late charge in Japan, they were the side that ran out of time to claw back a lead at McDonald Jones Stadium, losing to the Sunwolves for the first time.
Their task was always going to be a difficult one in the absence of Test trio Bernard Foley, Jack Dempsey and Adam Ashley-Cooper but the Waratahs still had plenty of chances to assert their dominance.
The absence of those three, particularly Foley, was always going to be a discussion point after a loss but Gibson reiterated the team’s commitment to World Cup management.
Read full match report here.
RESULT
Waratahs 29
Tries: Phipps, Clark, Hooper
Cons: Mason 2, Beale
Sunwolves 31
Tries: Masirewa 3, Hattingh
Cons: Parker 4
Pens: Parker
BLUES vs STORMERS
After being immersed in the aftermath of tragedy for two weeks, Sonny Bill Williams came off the bench to create a try which helped seal a 24-9 Super Rugby win by the 14-man Blues over the Stormers.
Williams, who converted to Islam a decade ago, has spent the past two weeks in Christchurch fund-raising and consoling members of the city’s Islamic community after the March 15 shooting at two mosques which left 50 dead.
He attended the national memorial service in Christchurch on Friday then, after missing last weekend’s match against the Highlanders, returned to the team for Saturday’s clash with the South Africans.
Williams took the field in the second half as a replacement at centre for Ma’a Nonu and made an immediate impact on a tight match which had been locked at 10-9 in the Blue’s favour for 16 minutes.
He crashed onto a pass in midfield in the 62nd minute, kept his feet as he broke through two tackles then handed off to five-eighth Otere Black who scored under the posts and converted a try which gave the Blues an eight-point buffer.
Winger Rieko Ioane made the game safer with a late try, his seventh in his last three games.
RESULT
Blues 24
Tries: Tele’a, Black, R Ioane.
Cons: Black 3
Pens: Black.
Red Card: Tele’a
Stormers 9
Pens: du Plessis 3
REDS vs REBELS
Quade Cooper says he has no beef with his Queensland teammates and wishes nothing but the best for the Reds franchise despite his messy off-season departure.
Cooper had the last laugh in his return to Suncorp Stadium, helping the Rebels to a 32-13 win against the Reds as he and halves partner Will Genia turned villains against the side they once helped lead to a Super Rugby championship.
Both teams had studiously avoided talking about Cooper’s return, with Queensland wags even labelling him “Voldemort” after the Harry Potter antagonist who must not be named.
And while the woeful Reds were their own worst enemies, Cooper and Genia directed their troops to perfection as the Rebels exploited their weaknesses to bounce back from a pair of losses in Africa to a win that puts them on top of the Australian conference.
The spotlight was always going to be on Cooper though and he responded with a performance that will only strengthen calls for his return to the Wallabies squad after being banished to club rugby last season after falling out of favour with Reds coach Brad Thorn.
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Read full match report here.
RESULT
Rebels 32
Tries: Maddocks 2, Rangi, Leota
Cons: Cooper 3
Pens: Cooper 2
Reds 13
Tries: Tupou
Cons: Hegarty
Pens: Hegarty 2
BULLS vs SHARKS
Handre Pollard struck a last-minute penalty as the Bulls returned to winning ways with a narrow 19-16 victory away over the Sharks at King’s Park in Super Rugby.
It was a scrappy victory on Saturday but an important boost as the Bulls were hammered at home by Waikato Chiefs just seven days earlier but have now climbed above the Sharks in the standings, albeit by a single point.
All the tries came in the second half as Daniel du Preez and Andre Esterhuizen scored for the home team and Jesse Kriel went over for the Bulls.
But the boot of Bulls captain Pollard proved the difference as he kicked four penalties and a conversion while Robert du Preez slotted two penalties for the Sharks.
The tempestuous clash saw rival hookers Schalk Brits and Akker van der Merwe red carded after throwing punches at each other in the maul and an ensuing grappling contest between the two. Both face suspension for coming games
RESULT
Sharks 16
Tries: D du Preez, Esterhuizen.
Pens: du Preez (2).
Red card: van der Merwe
Bulls 19
Tries: Kriel
Cons: Pollard
Pens: Pollard 4
Red card: Brits
JAGUARES vs CHIEFS
Scrumhalf Te Toiroa Tehuriorangi has scored a try with three minutes remaining to give the Hamilton-based Chiefs a thrilling 30-27 Super Rugby win over the Jaguares.
The Chiefs took a 17-6 lead to halftime after tries to Damian McKenzie and Tumua Manu and extended the lead after the interval.
But the hosts, playing more expansively in the second half, hit back with a Joaquin Tuculet try and rallied to tie the scores at 20-20, with a try to Pablo Matera in the 55th minute.
The Chiefs edged ahead 23-20 with a McKenzie penalty before the Jaguares seized their first lead on 73 minutes with a try to Matias Orlando, and a conversion.
With time running out, the Chiefs worked a simple blindside move from a scrum for replacement Tehuriorangi to score the decisive try and McKenzie converted with a kick that went over off the post.
Despite the win, the Chiefs are bottom of the New Zealand conference while the Jaguares are last in the South African conference.
RESULT
Chiefs 30
Tries: D McKenzie, Manu, Tahuriorangi
Cons: McKenzie 3
Pens: McKenzie 3
Jaguares 27
Tries: Tuculet, Matera, Orlando
Cons: Diaz Bonilla 3
Pens: Diaz Bonilla 2