Super Rugby - Round 8 Review
Reds setting the pace
ESPNscrum Staff
April 9, 2011

The Stormers turned in an error-strewn performance to suffer their first loss of the season against the in-form Reds at Newlands on Saturday, with victory sending the Queenslanders top of the overall standings.

Quade Cooper kicked 14 points in what was a tight affair, with Mike Harris' solitary try late on adding gloss to the 19-6 win.

The hosts were not helped by playing 20 minutes with 14 men after yellow cards for Duane Vermeulen and Deon Fourie. The second of those came at an especially crucial time, late on in the game and with the difference between the sides being just three points, as the visitors went on to complete a sixth win in seven games. Harris latched on to a pass from Will Genia and dived low to score on 73 minutes, making insignificant two penalties from Stormers fly-half Peter Grant.

The Crusaders continued their rich vein of form with a 27-0 victory over the Bulls in their Super Rugby clash at Fraser Park in Timaru on Saturday.

Right from the start, the Crusaders' ball retention was impressive and starved of possession and territory the South Africans grew increasingly frustrated as they were taken apart. Centre Sonny Bill Williams struck with the opening try of the game after cutting a great line through the Bulls' defence and the whistle of referee Jonathan White and the boot of Matt Berquist - standing in for the injured Dan Carter - combined to take the hosts out to a 14-0 lead at the break.

Fullback Israel Dagg muscled his way over for a crucial score just after the break and Berquist continued to punish the error-ridden Bulls with his fourth penalty midway through the half. Replacement Tom Marshall pounced for the hosts' third try in the closing stages and the impressive Crusaders defence, spearheaded by lock Chris Jack, held off a late rally to shut the Bulls out for the first time in over six years.

The Brumbies ended a five-game losing streak with a hard-fought 17-16 victory over the Hurricanes in Canberra. The visitors exploded into life with fly-half Aaron Cruden charging down a kick before winning the race to the ball to score the opening try. Brumbies fly-half Mat Giteau pulled his side back into the contest with two penalties before Cruden added one of his own to give his side a little more breathing space. But the Brumbies went into the break with a narrow one-point lead after Henry Speight crossed late in the half.

The Hurricanes wrestled back control of the game after the re-start thanks to a brace of penalties from replacement Daniel Kirkpatrick but two more successful kicks from Giteau either side of the hour mark proved enough for the home side to notch a rare success and condemn their New Zealand rivals to their fourth straight defeat.

The Waratahs picked up a second win in as many weeks to help them out of their mini-slump, with two tries from Wallabies winger Drew Mitchell and 15 points from Kurtley Beale inspiring a 31-3 victory over the Western Force in Perth.

In the continued absence of Berrick Barnes due to a concussion, Beale continued at fly-half and opened the scoring with a sixth-minute penalty. James O'Connor, at fullback this week for the Force, responded with three points of his own but from there it was one-way traffic as the visitors took control. Centre Tom Carter crashed over just before the half-hour mark, with Mitchell bagging tries either side of a 61st minute effort by Beale to wrap up a bonus-point.

The Sharks ended a run of three straight defeats as they condemned the Lions to their seventh loss from their opening eight matches with the hosts claiming a 27-3 victory at the Kings Park Stadium in Durban on Saturday.

Lions fly-half Elton Jantjies gave the visitors an early lead with a third-minute penalty but the Sharks then scored 27 unanswered points with fullback Louis Ludik, flanker Willem Alberts and winger JP Pietersen all scoring first-half tries. Centre Meyer Bosman converted one of the tries before being replaced by Adi Jacobs and fly-half Jacques -Louis Potgieter, took over the kicking duites, added a penalty in the second half before converting scrum-half Charl McLeod's last-minute try.

Anyone doubting that the Highlanders can sustain their Super Rugby resurgence might be forced to rethink after New Zealand's southernmost franchise disposed of a plucky Cheetahs outfit 24-21 at Carisbrook on Friday night.

The rugby wasn't the sort to draw spectators to the edge of their seats but there was enough to suggest the Highlanders will continue to push the Crusaders and Blues in the race to be top dog in the New Zealand conference. They scored three good tries - two from impressive flanker Adam Thomson and another from centre Kendrick Lynn - and defended well for the most part. However, they were forced to cling on in the final three minutes after winger Philip Burger grabbed the Cheetahs' third try - following scores from prop WP Nel and centre Robert Ebersohn.

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