Super Rugby Update

RUGBY UNION – Super Rugby

After five rounds of the 2016 Super Rugby competition, seven of last year’s top eight find themselves in finals positions on their respective conference ladders, with only the Waratahs of that eight not having won at least three matches thus far.

The Brumbies are sitting pretty at the top of the Australian conference, and they will host the Chiefs next week in a top-of-the-table clash that should provide a fairly strong indication of how they are progressing a third of the way through the season. At the other end of the ladder, the Reds are still winless after five matches, although they have played out a draw and two close losses, including a two-point defeat to the Waratahs last game.

The Brumbies ground out a 25-18 victory over the Cheetahs to remain top of the Australian conference

RESULTS – Round 5:
Hurricanes defeated Kings 42-20; Chiefs defeated Force 53-10; Rebels lost to Highlanders 3-27; Sunwolves lost to Bulls 27-30; Cheetahs lost to Brumbies 18-25; Sharks lost to Crusaders 14-19; Jaguares lost to Stormers 8-13; Reds lost to Waratahs 13-15.

CURRENT STANDINGS – after Round 5 of 17:

Australasian Group

South African Group

-A try bonus point is now awarded to a team for scoring 3+ tries more than their opponent
-A loss bonus point is also awarded to a team for losing by 7 points or less
-The finals series involves the four conference winners, the next three best teams from Australasia and the next one best team from South Africa

UPCOMING FIXTURES – Round 6:
Highlanders vs Force at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin (Fri, Apr 1 at 5:35pm)
Lions vs Crusaders at Emirates Airlines Park, Johannesburg (Sat, Apr 2 at 4:00am)
Blues vs Jaguares at QBE Stadium, Albany (Sat, Apr 2 at 5:35pm)
Brumbies vs Chiefs at GIO Stadium, Canberra (Sat, Apr 2 at 7:40pm)
Kings vs Sunwolves at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth (Sun, Apr 3 at 2:05am)
Bulls vs Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria (Sun, Apr 3 at 3:10am)
Waratahs vs Rebels at Allianz Stadium, Sydney (Sun, Apr 3 at 4:05pm)
Bye: Hurricanes, Reds, Sharks, Stormers

*All times AEDST except Bulls vs Cheetahs and Waratahs vs Rebels, which are AEST. Times, dates and venues subject to change

Super Rugby – Round 1

RUGBY UNION – Super Rugby

Tomas Cubelli scores one of the Brumbies’ seven tries in their 52-10 thrashing of the Hurricanes

RESULTS – Round 1:
Blues defeated Highlanders 33-31; Brumbies defeated Hurricanes 52-10; Cheetahs lost to Jaguares 33-34; Sunwolves lost to Lions 13-26; Crusaders lost to Chiefs 21-27; Waratahs defeated Reds 30-10; Force lost to Rebels 19-25; Kings lost to Sharks 8-43; Stormers defeated Bulls 33-9.

CURRENT STANDINGS – after Round 1 of 17:

Australasian Conference

South African conference

-A try bonus point is now awarded to a team for scoring 3+ tries more than their opponent
-A loss bonus point is also awarded to a team for losing by 7 points or less
-The finals series involves the four conference winners, the next three best teams from Australasia and the next one best team from South Africa

UPCOMING FIXTURES – Round 2:
Crusaders vs Blues at AMI Stadium, Christchurch (Fri, Mar 4 at 5:35pm)
Brumbies vs Waratahs at GIO Stadium, Canberra (Fri, Mar 4 at 7:40pm)
Chiefs vs Lions at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton (Sat, Mar 5 at 3:15pm)
Highlanders vs Hurricanes at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin (Sat, Mar 5 at 5:35pm)
Reds vs Force at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (Sat, Mar 5 at 7:40pm)
Bulls vs Rebels at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria (Sun, Mar 6 at 12:00am)
Cheetahs vs Stormers at Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein (Sun, Mar 6 at 2:05am)
Sharks vs Jaguares at Kings Park, Durban (Sun, Mar 6 at 4:10am)
Bye: Sunwolves, Kings

*All times AEDST. Times, dates and venues subject to change

Super Rugby 2016

RUGBY UNION – Super Rugby 2016

For the first time in its history, the Super Rugby competition will include teams from outside South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, with a team from both of Argentina (Jaguares) and Japan (Sunwolves) joining the tournament, as well as another team from South Africa (Kings). The eighteen teams will be split into two groups, each comprising two conferences:

AUSTRALASIAN GROUP
Australian conference: Brumbies (based in Canberra), Force (Perth), Reds (Brisbane), Rebels (Melbourne), Waratahs (Sydney)
New Zealand conference: Blues (Auckland), Chiefs (Hamilton), Crusaders (Christchurch), Highlanders (Dunedin), Hurricanes (Wellington)

SOUTH AFRICAN GROUP
Africa 01 conference: Bulls (Pretoria), Cheetahs (Bloemfontein), Stormers (Cape Town), Sunwolves (Tokyo)
Africa 02 conference: Jaguares (Buenos Aires), Kings (Port Elizabeth), Lions (Johannesburg), Sharks (Durban)

Each team will play a total of 15 regular season matches and have two byes. The finals series will involve eight teams: the four conference winners, the next three best teams from Australasia and the next one best team from South Africa.

The Highlanders will be looking to defend their title, after they were crowned champions in 2015 following their upset victory over the Hurricanes 21-14 in the final.

The Highlanders – 2015 Super Rugby Champions

 

2015 Final Standings:

Upcoming fixtures – Round 1
Blues vs Highlanders at Eden Park, Auckland (Fri, Feb 26 at 5:35pm)
Brumbies vs Hurricanes at GIO Stadium, Canberra (Fri, Feb 26 at 7:40pm)
Cheetahs vs Jaguares at Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein (Sat, Feb 27 at 4:00am)
Sunwolves vs Lions at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, Tokyo (Sat, Feb 27 at 3:15pm)
Crusaders vs Chiefs at AMI Stadium, Christchurch (Sat, Feb 27 at 5:35pm)
Waratahs vs Reds at Allianz Stadium, Sydney (Sat, Feb 27 at 7:40pm)
Force vs Rebels at nib Stadium, Perth (Sat, Feb 27 at 9:50pm)
Kings vs Sharks at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth (Sun, Feb 28 at 12:00am)
Stormers vs Bulls at Newlands, Cape Town (Sun, Feb 28 at 2:05am)

*All times AEDST. Times, dates and venues subject to change

The Week to October 19

RUGBY UNION

 

Bernard Foley missed his first three conversion attempts of the match, but kicked the one that mattered right at the end to give the Wallabies at 35-34 victory over Scotland

Upcoming fixtures – Semi-Finals:
SF1: South Africa vs New Zealand at Twickenham, London (Sun, Oct 25 at 2:00am AEDST)
SF2: Argentina vs Australia at Twickenham, London (Mon, Oct 26 at 3:00am AEDST)
Losers to play in Bronze Medal play-off at The Stadium, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London (Sat, Oct 31 at 7:00am AEDST)
Winners to play in Final at Twickenham, London (Sun, Oct 31 at 3:00am AEDST)

The Week to October 12

RUGBY UNION

The quarter-finalists of the 2015 Rugby World Cup have now been decided with the completion of the pool stages over the weekend, and the Wallabies will be very happy with proceedings in the tournament thus far. For the second consecutive match, they have shown their fighting qualities to pull off an impressive victory, this time defeating a Welsh side with a magnificent defensive display in front of more than 80,000 fans at Twickenham.

In a dour match, the Wallabies led 9-6 at halftime, with Bernard Foley kicking three penalty goals to his opposite Dan Biggar’s two. Foley added another three points ten minutes into the second stanza, but from then on, Wales set up camp deep in Australian territory. The Welsh had plenty of opportunities to breach the Wallabies’ defence, none better than the period around the 60-minute mark when the Wallabies were reduced first to 14 men when Will Genia was yellow carded, then to 13 men when Dean Mumm was sin-binned just minutes later.

Will Genia was shown a yellow card in the 57th minute…

…before Dean Mumm followed just three minutes later, reducing the Wallabies to 13 men

Australia’s brave defence somehow managed to hold out wave after wave of Welsh attack, and when Adam Ashley-Cooper and Kurtley Beale earned a relieving penalty after fifteen minutes of courageous defence virtually on their own tryline, the Wallabies would have felt they had the match won, even though the lead was just six points. They marched back up the field, and were awarded a penalty, which Foley duly converted to push the margin out to nine, and when Welsh winger Alex Cuthbert was yellow carded for a deliberate knock-on soon after, it was virtually game over.

Bernard Foley’s superb goal-kicking again proved crucial, this time slotting five penalties to help the Wallabies to a 15-6 win

The victory was the 11th straight for the Wallabies over Wales, with many calling it one of the finest defensive efforts they had ever seen. The result means that the Wallabies finish top of Pool A, and have a relatively easy route through the finals, avoiding both South Africa and New Zealand, compared with Wales, who would now likely need to defeat both of those sides just to make the final.

A battered and bruised Wallabies side celebrate their win, which sets up a quarter-final clash against Scotland

In Pool B, bonus points decided who qualified for the quarter-finals, after South Africa, Scotland and Japan finished with three wins apiece. South Africa’s opening loss to Japan sent a slight scare through the camp, but they managed convincing wins in their remaining three games to set up a mouth-watering quarter-final clash with Wales. Scotland snuck past Samoa in their final match to make it through to the next stage, where they will face Australia in the fourth quarter-final.

Results in Pool C went as expected, with New Zealand finishing on top, ahead of Argentina, who only narrowly went down to the Kiwis in their first match, and actually had a better points differential against Georgia, Tonga and Namibia than the All Blacks did.

The winner of Pool D wasn’t decided until the final match, with Ireland defeating France 24-9 to finish unbeaten through the round-robin phase. The loss means France will face New Zealand, whilst the Irish will face Argentina in what will be a mouth-watering clash.

Results:

Pool A

England defeated Fiji 35-11; Wales defeated Uruguay 54-9; Australia defeated Fiji 28-13;Wales defeated England 28-25; Australia defeated Uruguay 65-3; Wales defeated Fiji 23-13; Australia defeated England 33-13; Fiji defeated Uruguay 47-15; Australia defeated Wales 15-6; England defeated Uruguay 60-3.

Pool B

Japan defeated South Africa 34-32; Samoa defeated USA 25-16; Scotland defeated Japan 45-10; South Africa defeated Samoa 46-6; Scotland defeated USA 39-16; Japan defeated Samoa 26-5; South Africa defeated Scotland 34-16; South Africa defeated USA 64-0; Scotland defeated Samoa 36-33; Japan defeated USA 28-18.

Pool C

Georgia defeated Tonga 17-10; New Zealand defeated Argentina 26-16; New Zealand defeated Namibia 58-14; Argentina defeated Georgia 54-9; Tonga defeated Namibia 35-21; New Zealand defeated Georgia 43-10; Argentina defeated Tonga 45-16; Georgia defeated Namibia 17-16; New Zealand defeated Tonga 47-9; Argentina defeated Namibia 64-19.

Pool D

Ireland defeated Canada 50-7; France defeated Italy 32-10; France defeated Romania 38-11;Italy defeated Canada 23-18; Ireland defeated Romania 44-10; France defeated Canada 41-18; Ireland defeated Italy 16-9; Romania defeated Canada 17-15; Italy defeated Romania 32-22; Ireland defeated France 24-9.

Upcoming fixtures – Quarter-Finals:
QF1: South Africa vs Wales at Twickenham, London (Sun, Oct 18 at 2:00am AEDST)
QF2: New Zealand vs France at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (Sun, Oct 18 at 6:00am AEDST)
Winner of QF1 to play winner of QF2 in SF1 at Twickenham, London (Sun, Oct 25 at 2:00am AEDST)
QF3: Argentina vs Ireland at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (Sun, Oct 18 at 11:00pm AEDST)
QF4: Australia vs Scotland at Twickenham, London (Mon, Oct 19 at 2:00am AEDST)
Winner of QF3 to play winner of QF4 in SF2 at Twickenham, London (Mon, Oct 26 at 3:00am AEDST)

The Week to March 23

CRICKET

The quarter-finals of the 2015 ICC World Cup have come and gone, and now just four teams remain. The top two from each group (New Zealand and Australia from Pool A, and India and South Africa from Pool B) have made it through to the semi-finals, with the unbeaten Kiwis to face South Africa in Auckland on Tuesday, and Australia hosting the undefeated Indian side in Sydney on Thursday. All four had rather convincing victories in their respective quarter-final matches, and will be hoping to continue their good form heading into the final few matches of the tournament.

Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara was unable to notch up a fifth consecutive century, but his 45 in his side’s defeat to South Africa kept him at the top of the run-scoring chart with 541 runs. He is just ahead of New Zealand’s Martin Guptill, whose 237 not out against the West Indies rocketed him up the list into second with 498 runs. Zimbabwe’s Brendan Taylor remains in third for now with 433 runs, but South Africa’s AB de Villiers should have at least one more chance to add to his tally of 417.

Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara signed off his career in style, finishing with four consecutive hundreds and a 45, but was unable to drag his team past South Africa in the first quarter-final

 

New Zealand’s Trent Boult heads the wicket-taking list with 19 scalps at an average of 14.63, just ahead of Australia’s Mitchell Starc, who has 18 wickets at 9.77. India’s Mohammed Shami and West Indian Jerome Taylor share third spot with 17 wickets apiece, averaging 13.29 and 19.29 respectively.

New Zealand’s Trent Boult sits atop the wicket-taking tally with 19, having taken at least two wickets in all but one of his seven matches in the World Cup so far

 

 

Results:

South Africa 1/134 (18 overs) defeated Sri Lanka 10/133 (37.2 overs) by 9 wickets (with 192 balls remaining)

India 6/302 (50 overs) defeated Bangladesh 10/193 (45 overs) by 109 runs

Australia 4/216 (33.5 overs) defeated Pakistan 10/213 (49.5 overs) by 6 wickets (with 97 balls remaining)

New Zealand 6/393 (50 overs) defeated West Indies 10/250 (30.3 overs) by 143 runs

 

Upcoming Fixtures:

Semi-Final 1: New Zealand vs South Africa at Eden Park, Auckland (Tue, Mar 24 at 12:00pm)

Semi-Final 2: Australia vs India at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney (Thu, Mar 26 at 2:30pm)

Final to be played at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne (Sun, Mar 29 at 2:30pm)

*All times AEDST

 

RUGBY UNION

Round results (home team listed first): Highlanders lost to Hurricanes 13-20; Rebels lost to Lions 16-20; Crusaders defeated Cheetahs 57-14; Bulls defeated Force 25-24; Sharks defeated Chiefs 12-11; Waratahs defeated Brumbies 28-13.

Current standings – Round 6:

 

Upcoming fixtures – Round 7:

Hurricanes vs Rebels at Westpac Stadium, Wellington (Fri, Mar 27 at 5:35pm)

Reds vs Lions at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (Fri, Mar 27 at 8:00pm)

Chiefs vs Cheetahs at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton (Sat, Mar 28 at 2:30pm)

Highlanders vs Stormers at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin (Sat, Mar 28 at 5:35pm)

Waratahs vs Blues at Allianz Stadium, Sydney (Sat, Mar 28 at 7:40pm)

Sharks vs Force at Kings Park, Durban (Sun, Mar 29 at 2:05am)

Bulls vs Crusaders at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria (Sun, Mar 29 at 4:10am)

Bye: Brumbies

*All times AEDST

 

RUGBY LEAGUE

Round results (home team listed first): Sea Eagles lost to Bulldogs 12-16; Broncos defeated Cowboys 44-22; Warriors defeated Eels 29-16; Raiders lost to Dragons 20-22; Storm defeated Sharks 36-18; Rabbitohs defeated Tigers 20-6; Titans lost to Knights 18-20; Roosters defeated Panthers 20-12.

Current standings – Round 3:

Upcoming fixtures – NRL Round 4:

Eels vs Rabbitohs at Pirtek Stadium, Parramatta (Fri, Mar 27 at 7:35pm)

Tigers vs Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium, Sydney (Fri, Mar 27 at 7:35pm)

Knights vs Panthers at Hunter Stadium, Newcastle (Sat, Mar 28 at 3:00pm)

Sharks vs Titans at Remondis Stadium, Woolooware (Sat, Mar 28 at 5:30pm)

Dragons vs Sea Eagles at TBC (Sat, Mar 28 at 7:30pm)

Warriors vs Broncos at Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland (Sun, Mar 29 at 12:00pm)

Roosters vs Raiders at Allianz Stadium, Sydney (Sun, Mar 29 at 2:00pm)

Cowboys vs Storm at 1300SMILES Stadium, Townsville (Mon, Mar 30 at 7:00pm)

*All times AEDST

**If you are tipping and have no idea who to go for, you could pick the home team, or the team that’s higher on the ladder. I’ll put up the tally each week of where you would be placed for each option. (The underlined team is the higher-ranked team as at the end of the previous round.)

HOME: 13/24

HIGHER-RANKED: 15/24

 

FORMULA 1

Next race: Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang International Circuit, Sepang, Selangor (Sun, Mar 29 at 6:00pm)

*All times AEDST

 

The Week to February 16

CRICKET

The 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup is now underway, with four of the 42 pool matches now complete. Co-hosts Australia and New Zealand both posted thumping wins over their opponents on the opening day, and South Africa and India followed suit on day two of the tournament. To date, four centuries have been scored, and two five-wicket hauls have been taken.

South Africa’s opening match of the tournament was against Zimbabwe in Hamilton, and they were expected to make fairly easy work of their opponents. This wasn’t the case though, with Zimbabwe having the better of the first half of both innings. South African was struggling at 4/102 after 25 overs, but David Miller and JP Duminy put on an unbeaten 256 for the fifth wicket to launch South Africa to 4/339 from their 50-over allotment. Miller finished on 138 from just 92 deliveries, including nine sixes, and Duminy ended on 115 from 100 deliveries. Zimbabwe put up a spirited fight, reaching 2/146 at the halfway point of their innings, but the 340-run target always seemed to be a bridge too far, and they were bowled out for 277 in the 49th over.

Man-of-the-match David Miller (138*) and JP Duminy (115*) walk off after putting together an unbroken 256-run partnership off just 178 deliveries

 

MATCH SUMMARY

South Africa 4/339 (50 overs): D Miller 138 not out (92 balls), JP Duminy 115 not out (100 balls)

Zimbabwe 10/277 (48.2 overs): H Masakadza 80 (74 balls); I Tahir 3/36 (10 overs)

SOUTH AFRICA won by 62 runs.

Man of the Match – David Miller (South Africa)

 

India faced off against Pakistan in front of a capacity crowd at Adelaide Oval, many fans having travelled from around the country and some from across the globe to be part of such a huge match. India’s top order all made starts, with Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli, then Kohli and Suresh Raina putting on hundred stands for the second and third wickets. At 2/273 with five overs remaining and Kohli on 107, 330 looked a distinct possibility, but some superb death bowling from Sohail Khan helped restrict the Indians to 7/300 from their 50 overs, Khan finishing with 5/55 from his 10-over spell. Pakistan’s chase started reasonably, as they reached 2/92 at the 20-over mark, but the loss of three quick, key wickets saw them slip to 5/105 at the halfway point. Captain Misbah-ul-Haq did his best to turn the match around, but he had little support from the lower-order, and his side was eventually dismissed for 224, with Mohammed Shami claiming 4/35.

Virat Kohli celebrates reaching his 100 against Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval

 

MATCH SUMMARY

India 7/300 (50 overs): V Kohli 107 (126 balls), S Raina 74 (56 balls), S Dhawan 73 (76 balls); S Khan 5/55 (10 overs)

Pakistan 10/224 (47.0 overs): Misbah-ul-Haq 76 (84 balls); M Shami 4/35 (9 overs)

INDIA won by 76 runs.

Man of the Match – Virat Kohli (India)

 

Current standings – POOL B (after 2 of 21 matches):

Upcoming Fixtures:

Match 5 (Pool B): West Indies vs Ireland at Saxton Oval, Nelson (Mon, Feb 16 at 9:00am)

Match 6 (Pool A): New Zealand vs Scotland at University Oval, Dunedin (Tue, Feb 17 at 9:00am)

Match 7 (Pool A): Bangladesh vs Afghanistan at Manuka Oval, Canberra (Wed, Feb 18 at 2:30pm)

Match 8 (Pool B): Zimbabwe vs UAE at Saxton Oval, Nelson (Thu, Feb 19 at 9:00am)

Match 9 (Pool A): England vs New Zealand at Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington (Fri, Feb 20 at 12:00pm)

Match 10 (Pool B): Pakistan vs West Indies at Hagley Oval, Christchurch (Sat, Feb 21 at 9:00am)

Match 11 (Pool A): Australia vs Bangladesh at The Gabba, Brisbane (Sat, Feb 21 at 2:30pm)

Match 12 (Pool A): Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan at University Oval, Dunedin (Sun, Feb 22 at 9:00am)

Match 13 (Pool B): South Africa vs India at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne (Sun, Feb 22 at 2:30pm)

*All times AEDST

 

RUGBY UNION

The 2015 Super Rugby competition got underway over the weekend, with six of the seven home teams suffering defeats, including both of last year’s grand finalists, the Waratahs and Crusaders.

The Rebels opened the season with a shock win over the Crusaders in Christchurch, outscoring their opponents two tries to one in a 20-10 victory. Significantly for the Rebels, it was their first win outside Australia in more than four years in the Super Rugby competition. In the first of the two all-Australian matches, the Brumbies became the first, and ultimately, only home side to notch a victory in the opening round, scoring six tries to nil in a 47-3 demolition of the Reds. In the second all-Australian clash, the Force won their season-opener for the first time in their ten-year history, sealing a bonus-point 25-15 victory in a huge upset over the Waratahs. The margin could have been much greater if Force goalkicker Sias Ebersohn had converted more than two of his seven shots at goal.

Round results: Rebels defeated Crusaders 20-10; Brumbies defeated Reds 47-3; Hurricanes defeated Lions 22-8; Chiefs defeated Blues 23-18; Cheetahs defeated Sharks 35-28; Stormers defeated Bulls 29-17; Force defeated Waratahs 25-15.

Current standings – Round 1:

Upcoming fixtures – Round 2:

Chiefs vs Brumbies at Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth (Fri, Feb 20 at 5:35pm)

Rebels vs Waratahs at AAMI Park, Melbourne (Fri, Feb 20 at 7:40pm)

Bulls vs Hurricanes at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria (Sat, Feb 21 at 4:10am)

Highlanders vs Crusaders at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin (Sat, Feb 21 at 5:35pm)

Reds vs Force at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (Sat, Feb 21 at 7:40pm)

Stormers vs Blues at Newlands Stadium, Cape Town (Sun, Feb 22 at 2:05am)

Sharks vs Lions at Kings Park, Durban (Sun, Feb 22 at 4:10am)

Bye: Cheetahs

*All times AEDST

 

The Week to November 24

CRICKET

Australia has snuck home by 2 wickets in the fifth and final One-Day International against South Africa in Sydney to record a 4-1 series victory. On the back of a scintillating century from Quinton de Kock and some lusty late hitting from Farhaarn Behardien, the visitors set a challenging target of 281, which was revised to 275 due to a brief rain delay early in Australia’s innings. Openers Aaron Finch and David Warner raced out of the blocks, and with Shane Watson and Steve Smith both posting half centuries, it looked as though the Australians would chase down the total comfortably. Robin Peterson dismissed Smith to trigger a collapse from 4/264 to 8/267 and send a scare through the Australian camp, but James Faulkner calmly muscled the winning runs with five balls to spare to close out the match and help Australia regain top spot on the ICC world rankings.

Man-of-the-series Steve Smith scored 67, his third consecutive 50+ score, to help Australia to secure a 4-1 ODI series win against South Africa

 

MATCH SUMMARIES

Game Five

South Africa 6/280 (50 overs): Q de Kock 107, F Behardien 63, R Rossouw 51; P Cummins 3/54 (9 overs)

Australia 8/275 (47.1/48 overs): S Watson 82, A Finch 76, S Smith 67; R Peterson 4/32 (6.1 overs)

AUSTRALIA won by 2 wickets (with 5 balls remaining) (Duckworth-Lewis Method)

Man of the Match – Quintin de Kock (South Africa)

Man of the Series – Steve Smith (Australia): 254 runs at 84.66

AUSTRALIA won the series 4-1.

 

Previous Results

Game Three

Australia 5/329 (50 overs) defeated South Africa 10/256 (44.3 overs) by 73 runs

Game Four

Australia 7/268 (49 overs) defeated South Africa 8/267 (50 overs) by 3 wickets with 6 balls remaining

 

UPCOMING FIXTURES:

Test Series:

1st Test: Australia vs India at The Gabba, Brisbane (Thu, Dec 4 at 11:00am)

2nd Test: Australia vs India at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (Fri, Dec 12 at 11:00am)

3rd Test: Australia vs India at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne (Fri, Dec 26 at 10:30am)

4th Test: Australia vs India at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney (Sat, Jan 3 at 10:30am)

 

RUGBY UNION

The Wallabies have fallen to their second consecutive loss, again going down by three points, this time to Ireland 26-23 in the penultimate match of their 2014 Spring Tour. The Irish skipped out to a 17-0 advantage just fifteen minutes into the game, but thanks to a try to Bernard Foley and a double to Nick Phipps, the Australians fought back to level the scores at 17-all at the half-hour mark. Foley then kicked a penalty to put the Wallabies in the lead for the first time, but Irish flyhalf Johnny Sexton hit back after the halftime siren to send the sides into the sheds at 20-all. There was another exchange of penalties soon after the break, but the Wallabies would not add any further points to their tally as they spent most of the second half defending. A penalty goal to Sexton in the 64th minute rounded out the scoring, as Ireland claimed their seventh straight Test match win, and Australia will need to win their final match next week against England to avoid their worst Spring Tour since 2005.

IRELAND 26 (S Zebo, T Bowe tries; J Sexton 2 conversions, 4 penalties) defeated AUSTRALIA 23 (N Phipps 2, B Foley tries; B Foley conversion, 2 penalties)

UPCOMING FIXTURE – Spring Tour:

England vs Australia at Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, England (Sun, Nov 30 at 1:30am)

*All times AEDST

 

The Week to November 17

CRICKET

Australia is locked at 1-1 in its five-match One Day International series against South Africa after going down by 3 wickets in the second ODI in Perth. A superb spell of bowling from South African quick Morne Morkel restricted the Australians to a sub-par total of 154, which they fought hard to defend, but ultimately the visitors passed the target with relative ease.

The Australian innings started disastrously, with the top four all falling inside the first twelve overs, leaving the home side at 4/34. Captain George Bailey and youngster Mitchell Marsh then came together and added 58 before Bailey was dismissed for 25. Matthew Wade and Marsh then put on 33 runs, but once Wade was dismissed – controversially given out caught behind through the Decision Review System – Australia’s innings was quickly wrapped up by Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, who finished with 8 wickets between them. Marsh was the only batsman to pass 25, putting together a well-compiled 67 before being last man out.

Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Johnson both struck early in South Africa’s reply, removing their openers inside seven overs, but a counter-attacking 30 off 25 balls from Rilee Rossouw put Australia on the back foot again. His dismissal brought South Africa’s captain AB de Villiers to the crease, and the skipper looked at ease from ball one. South Africa looked to have the chase well under control with de Villiers and Faf du Plessis at the crease, before Hazlewood picked up two wickets in two balls to reduce the visitors to 5/113. de Villiers continued to attack fearlessly, taking the score to 141 before he became Hazlewood’s fourth victim, falling for 48. Hazlewood picked up a fifth wicket in his next over, but by then the game was as good as over, Steyn hammering a boundary to wrap up an impressive fightback after the Australians had taken out the first match convincingly by 32 runs.

Josh Hazlewood picked up 5/31 but it wasn’t enough to prevent his side from going down to South Africa in the 2nd ODI

MATCH SUMMARIES – Men’s One Day Internationals

Game Two

Australia 10/154 (41.1 overs): M Marsh 67; M Morkel 5/21 (8 overs)

South Africa 7/157 (27.4 overs): AB de Villiers 48; J Hazlewood 5/31 (9.4 overs)

SOUTH AFRICA won by 3 wickets (with 134 balls remaining)

Man of the Match – Morne Morkel (South Africa)

 

Previous Result

Game One

Australia 8/300 (50 overs) defeated South Africa 10/268 (50 overs) by 32 runs

 

In the women’s game, the Southern Stars secured a 3-0 series lead over the West Indies, claiming a crushing eight-wicket win in Bowral in the third of their four ODIs. The West Indians won the toss and chose to bat, and as they had done in the previous match, the openers put on a big partnership, this time reaching 97 at the 20-over mark before Kycia Knight was trapped leg before wicket for 40. The rest of the side was unable to capitalise on their strong start, with the Australian bowlers picking up regular breakthroughs to restrict the visitors to 7/220. The Australian chase didn’t start well, with both openers back in the pavilion within five overs, but skipper Meg Lanning and all-rounder Ellyse Perry batted sensibly, ensuring they got set before hitting out. The pair put on an unbeaten 204-run partnership, Perry finishing on 64 not out, and Lanning smashing her way to 135 not out from just 127 deliveries, and they passed the West Indies’ total with 41 deliveries to spare. The final match of the series will be played in Bowral on Tuesday.

Ellyse Perry and Meg Lanning walk off after a 204-run partnership, which secured victory in the 3rd ODI against the West Indies

 

MATCH SUMMARIES – Women’s One Day Internationals

Game Three

West Indies 7/220 (50 overs): H Matthews 60; R Farrell 2/40 (8 overs), E Osborne 2/51 (10 overs)

Australia 2/222 (43.1 overs): M Lanning 135 not out, E Perry 64 not out

AUSTRALIA won by 8 wickets (with 41 balls remaining)

Player of the Match – Meg Lanning (Australia)

 

Previous Results

Game One

Australia 7/241 (49.3 overs) defeated West Indies 8/240 (50 overs) by 3 wickets with 3 balls remaining

Game Two

Australia 10/256 (50 overs) defeated West Indies 8/203 (50 overs) by 53 runs

 

UPCOMING FIXTURES:

Men’s ODI Series:

3rd ODI: Australia vs South Africa at Manuka Oval, Canberra (Wed, Nov 19 at 2:20pm)

4th ODI: Australia vs South Africa at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne (Fri, Nov 21 at 2:20pm)

5th ODI: Australia vs South Africa at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney (Sun, Nov 23 at 2:20pm)

 

Women’s ODI Series:

4th ODI: Australia vs West Indies at Bradman Oval, Bowral (Tue, Nov 18 at 10:00am)

 

RUGBY LEAGUE

New Zealand has claimed their second Four Nations title after defeating the Kangaroos 22-18 in front of 25,000 fans at Westpac Stadium in Wellington. The Kiwis came into the final as the tournament’s only unbeaten team and began as slight favourites, but it was the Australians who piled on the early pressure, going close to scoring twice in the opening minutes before Michael Jennings finally put them ahead in the 11th minute. Some acrobatics from the Kiwi wingers and fancy footwork from local hero Shaun Johnson put the Kiwis up 14-6 at halftime but less than two minutes after the break, a try to Sione Mata’utia put the Australians back within two points. A spectacular solo effort from Johnson pushed the margin back out to six, and when Manu Vatuvei crossed for his second try, the home side led by ten with less than twenty minutes to play. Then came the inevitable Australian fightback, with Ben Hunt finishing off a breathtaking passage of play from the Australian backline to narrow the margin to four points with just four minutes remaining. In the final minute, the Kangaroos thought they had tied up the scores, but Mata’utia’s effort was called back for a forward pass, and the Kiwis were able to close out a nailbiting four-point win.

NEW ZEALAND 22 (M Vatuvei 2, J Nightingale, S Johnson tries; S Johnson 3 goals) defeated AUSTRALIA 18 (M Jennings, S Mata’utia, B Hunt tries; C Smith 3 goals)

New Zealand defeated Australia 22-18 to claim the 2014 Four Nations Tournament

 

 

RUGBY UNION

The Wallabies have suffered their first loss under new coach Michael Cheika, going down to France 29-26, ending their hopes of an unbeaten 2014 Spring Tour. Ill discipline and poor ball control cost the Wallabies dearly, and they were fortunate to be down just 17-16 at halftime, with Adam Ashley-Cooper crossing late in the half to help close an early 11-point deficit. After the break, the French extended their lead to 29-19, but with seven minutes remaining, Remi Tales was sin-binned for cynical play, giving the Australians a late chance to snatch victory. Rob Simmons crossed to help get his side back within three points, but poor execution again meant that the Wallabies could not close out a win. The Wallabies next match is against the Irish, who are the current Six Nations Champions.

FRANCE 29 (S Tillous-Borde, T Thomas tries; C Lopez 2 conversions; C Lopez 4, R Kockott penalties) defeated AUSTRALIA 26 (A Ashley-Cooper, R Simmons tries; B Foley 2 conversions, 5 penalties)

UPCOMING FIXTURES – Spring Tour:

Ireland vs Australia at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland (Sun, Nov 23 at 3:30am)

England vs Australia at Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, England (Sun, Nov 30 at 1:30am)

*All times AEDST

 

FORMULA 1:

Next race: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (Mon, Nov 24 at 12:00am)

Current Standings:

Drivers: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 334 points; Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) – 317 points; Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) – 214 points

Constructors: Mercedes – 651 points; Red Bull – 373 points; Williams-Mercedes – 254 points

This is the final race of the season. Double points will be awarded, meaning first place will earn 50 points, second 36 and third 30. (Fourth to tenth will earn 24, 20, 16, 12, 8, 4, 2.)

*All times AEDST