Rugby-Waratahs give hope of Australian renaissance in Super Rugby

The Reds' defeat, their 22nd out of the last 24 games against New Zealand opponents, allowed the Chiefs to leapfrog them into fourth place, and was further soured by a calf injury to powerhouse prop Taniela Tupou. With the first 10 weeks of the season confined to Australia and New Zealand, Super Rugby spread its wings to land in Fiji where the Otago Highlanders overcame a seven-point half-time deficit on Saturday to deny Fijian Drua victory in their first match on home soil.

The New South Wales Waratahs gave hope of an Australian renaissance with a stunning upset of the Canterbury Crusaders before the ACT Brumbies downed another New Zealand opponent in Super Rugby on Sunday.

After a winless 2021, the rebuilding Waratahs claimed their sixth victory of the season against the Crusaders to continue their resurgence under new coach Darren Coleman and put themselves in playoffs contention. Saturday's 24-21 triumph at Leichhardt Oval was the Waratahs' first over a New Zealand team since beating the Crusaders 20-12 in 2019, and Australian fans will hope it marks a shift in the trans-Tasman balance of power.

Australia's teams won only two of 25 matches against New Zealand opposition last year, and another lopsided season looked in store after four of the five Kiwi sides claimed dominant wins in last week's "Super Round" in Melbourne. The ACT Brumbies were the team that prevented the New Zealand whitewash last week, and they backed up their defeat of the Otago Highlanders with an emphatic 42-25 win over the Wellington Hurricanes at their home Canberra Stadium.

The Brumbies shored up second place with their ninth win in week 11 of competition, leaving them a point behind the leading Auckland Blues, while the Hurricanes dropped to seventh behind the sixth-placed Waratahs. "It's quite refreshing to play the Australian sides who are quality and throwing different things at you," said Hurricanes playmaker Beauden Barrett.

"It adds a good spice to the competition now." But for poor discipline by the Queensland Reds and some heroic Blues defense on Friday, Australia might have celebrated a perfect weekend against the New Zealand teams.

Instead, the Reds fell 27-25 to the Waikato Chiefs at their home Lang Park in Brisbane, while the Perth-based Western Force also went down 22-18 at home to the Blues. The Reds' defeat, their 22nd out of the last 24 games against New Zealand opponents, allowed the Chiefs to leapfrog them into fourth place and was further soured by a calf injury to powerhouse prop Taniela Tupou.

With the first 10 weeks of the season confined to Australia and New Zealand, Super Rugby spread its wings to land in Fiji where the Otago Highlanders overcame a seven-point halftime deficit on Saturday to deny Fijian Drua victory in their first match on home soil. The 27-24 result, the Highlanders' second win of the season, spoilt the Drua's homecoming but the heaving crowd of 15,000 at Suva's National Stadium was encouraging for the competition's Pacific push.

Moana Pasifika, the second expansion side to join Super Rugby this season, also missed out on a second win in Melbourne on Saturday as the Rebels held on 24-21 to sneak into the eighth and final playoff position.

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