WEEKLY SPORTS DIGEST: Highlanders on a high

WEEKLY SPORTS DIGEST: Highlanders on a high

07/03/11 Executive sport summary– An overview of the major sporting events – Results, key moments and talking points – Everything you need to know to foot it at the water cooler this week.

By Jonathan McKeown

SUPER RUGBY: The Highlanders thrashed the Bulls 28-35 in a bonus point victory at Loftus Versfeld. The home fans were stunned into silence for most of the match as Otago ran with purpose to lead from start to finish. The highly underrated New Zealand outfit were the first team to win at Loftus in three seasons, breaking the unbeaten home run of 20 matches.

The Chiefs won their first match at home beating the Rebels by 38 to 10. The Chiefs outside backs were too evasive for the new franchise, scoring a four-try bonus point. But perhaps the highlight of the match was Tana Umaga’s clash with Stirling Mortlock. Tana showed his edge in the battle of the veteran centres, with a classy passing game and a lot of unexpected pace.

The Blues claimed a bonus point 41-32 victory over the Lions in Johannesburg.

The Hurricanes had a by this round but you could have thought they had swapped jerseys and played for the Blues. Counter-attacking flair mixed with momentary brain explosions and the Blues were lucky their star quality was enough to get them across the line.

The Crusaders proved too good for the Waratahs again, their ninth straight victory over the New South Wales franchise. The match was played at Trafalgar Park in Nelson due to the Christchurch earthquake and a full house savoured every moment of the 33-18 victory.

In his first game as a Crusader Sonny Bill Williams was nervous early, but his partnership with Robbie Fruean stood out as the pair scored all three of the Crusaders’ tries. Daniel Carter was in prodigious form with the boot, knocking them over from everywhere.

CRICKET WORLD CUP: England are fast becoming the tournament entertainers, as all of their matches have gone down to the wire and yielded fantastic results. After a 600 plus draw with India and a shock loss to Ireland after making well over 300, England earned an unlikely win over South Africa.

In a thrilling match England were scuttled for 171 and looked to be down and out as South Africa were cruising at 75 for one. But we have learnt to expect the unexpected and England delivered, successfully defending 171 runs by bowling South Africa for 165 inside the last two overs.

Ireland couldn’t repeat their heroics against India. After being well placed the tournament darlings were bowled out for 207. The tournament favourites India then cruised to a five-wicket victory.

The Blackcaps dominated Zimbabwe in Ahmedabad as the Kiwis claimed their second 10-wicket win in the World Cup. Martin Guptill (86) and Brendon McCullum (76) made light work of the 163 run target with an unbeaten, record opening partnership. Australia’s World Cup rematch with co-hosts Sri Lanka was a washout after torrential rain allowed the teams to earn only one point each.

BASKETBALL: The New Zealand Breakers broke their two loss run in dramatic fashion. Two late bricks from the Townsville Crocs gave the game to the Breakers who scraped home 66-65 at the North Shore Events Centre. In his 100th game for the club Kirk Penney scored a vital 20 points. The Breakers need just one win from four games to clinch the regular-season title.

A-LEAGUE: Central Coast will face Brisbane in the A-League football grand final. The Mariners booked their third grand final with a 1-0 victory over Gold Coast, Adam Kwasnik scoring the late winner as Gold Coast failed to fire. The win guaranteed entry into next year's Asian Champions League and a meeting with the Roar for the sixth time this season.

PREMIER LEAGUE: Arsenal missed a trick drawing nil-all with visitors Sunderland. The Gunners had a gilt-edged chance to press leaders Manchester United who were stunned by a Dirk Kuyt hat-trick in losing 3-1 to Liverpool. West Ham moved out of the relegation zone with a 3-0 win over Stoke City while newly crowned League Cup winners Birmingham City lost 3-1 to West Bromwich.

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