The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Rugby: Sharks hold off Bulls with 14 men
- Sinfield salutes Leeds team-mates after rugby Cup triumph
- Golf: Woods takes rare rest at Ryder Cup
| Rugby: Sharks hold off Bulls with 14 men Posted: 28 Sep 2012 07:13 PM PDT JOHANNESBURG: - Sharks went top of the Currie Cup table Friday with a 13-12 home win over Blue Bulls in wet Durban despite playing the final 10 minutes a man short. Hooker Pieter Dixon was given a harsh red card by referee Mark Lawrence when his stray foot accidentally struck an opponent in the face with his side holding a four-point advantage. But all the Bulls could manage with a numerical advantage was a penalty from fly-half Louis Fouche as the 23-time South African champions slumped to a fifth loss in eight outings that kept them second last in the table. Fouche kicked two penalties and a drop goal in the opening half on a pitch made treacherous by torrential rain while wing Paul Jordaan darted down the blindside for a try to leave the Sharks trailing 9-5 at the break. Discarded Springbok loose forward Keegan Daniel scored a second Sharks try five minutes into the second half after a break by scrum-half Cobus Reinach and centre Meyer Bosman stretched the lead with a penalty. Sharks have 25 points, defending champions Golden Lions 24, Western Province 20, Griquas 15, Bulls 14 and Free State Cheetahs 12 with the top four advancing to the semi-finals while the bottom team go into a two-leg relegation play-off. - AFP |
| Sinfield salutes Leeds team-mates after rugby Cup triumph Posted: 28 Sep 2012 07:09 PM PDT WIGAN, United Kingdom: Match-winner Kevin Sinfield refused to take the credit for champions Leeds' nailbiting 13-12 Super League semi-final win over Wigan after some nerveless goal-kicking on Friday. The visitors were 11-0 up at half-time after Kallum Watkins broke from his own try-line to score and Sinfield added seven points with the boot. Wigan responded in the second half through tries from former New Zealand international Harrison Hansen and ex-Wests Tigers wing Pat Richards - who also kicked two goals - but it was Sinfield's late penalty that handed Rhinos their fifth Grand Final appearance in six years. Sinfield's conversion of Watkins's first-half try was his 100th goal in play-off football, but he claimed the impact of Leeds' big men, including Kylie Leuluai was of equal importance. The former Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles prop, cousin of Wigan's Thomas, had to step up in the absence of the banned Danny McGuire and Sinfield lauded the whole of his pack's efforts. "Without Maggsy (Danny McGuire), to come here and get the result was great and we don't want this run to end," said Sinfield, whose side will face either Challenge Cup winners Warrington or St Helens at Old Trafford next Saturday. "It was a huge effort, we didn't do anything flash but for sheer effort and determination, you've got to hand it to our lads. "It's a real tough place to come, and to come and get the win was fantastic. It wasn't pretty, but it didn't have to be, we just had to win and we give ourselves an opportunity next week now. "I don't want the credit, our big men deserve it, our back three," Sinfield insisted. "I'm just doing my job and ultimately I get to kick the goals. Thankfully it was near the goals." Wigan may have had three stars desperate to extend their Super League stay in Friday's semi-final but captain Sean O'Loughlin admitted they were beaten by the better side. Jeff Lima, Brett Finch and Thomas Leuluai will all move on to pastures new for the 2013 season but without silverware to add to their collection. And Lima, set to link up with South Sydney Rabbitohs, Leuluai, rejoining New Zealand Warriors, and Finch, whose future who is still up in the air, will have to wonder what might have been according to O'Loughlin. "We had a poor start in the first half and we didn't quite have enough in the end," said the 29-year-old. "I just think it was two very evenly-matched sides on the day and they just pipped us in the end. That's credit to them, they've come here and done a job on us," he added. "There were a few things we didn't do too well, especially in the first half, but that's the way it goes sometimes. "Jack (Murphy) came in and did a great job for us. You're obviously going to miss a player like Sam (Tomkins) but that's no excuse, we're a strong team and we can still deal with it but we just couldn't on this occasion." - AFP |
| Golf: Woods takes rare rest at Ryder Cup Posted: 28 Sep 2012 07:00 PM PDT CHICAGO, Illinois: The United States head into Saturday's foursomes without Tiger Woods, marking just the second time in seven Ryder Cups the 14-time major winner has had to sit down. Woods, who locked up the No. 1 spot in US team qualifying, will sit with partner Steve Stricker as his struggles in Ryder Cup continued Friday at the Medinah Country Club course. "I think Tiger needs a rest," said US team skipper Davis Love. "They told me they would do whatever I asked them to do and I can guarantee you, neither one of them are very happy about it. "Not because they are sitting out but because they have to wait til tomorrow afternoon to come back. They didn't play great this morning but they were in it for awhile." World No. 2 Woods and Stricker were the only US team to lose both their matches during Friday's opening day of the 39th Ryder Cup. Love decided to sit the 36-year-old Woods even though he rebounded in the afternoon fourball session with seven birdies in a losing cause to Nicolas Colsaerts and Lee Westwood. "I didn't play very good this morning at all," Woods said. "I was hitting it awful and not doing anything well. But drove it great this afternoon and was in position." Woods sizzled with seven birdies but he had to take a back seat to Colsaerts brilliant performance which included eight birdies and an eagle. "Nicolas probably had one of the greatest putting rounds I've ever seen," Woods said. "We had a chance to all square on the last hole, and I missed it." Woods' morning match was put on the clock on the seventh hole after he hit a spectator with one of several errant tee shots during that round. It smashed into a fan before bouncing back into the fairway. Woods went over to the downed spectator and tried to talk to the injured man before he was taken away for medical treatment. Woods has a losing record in Ryder Cups and has been part of just one winning Ryder Cup team, back in 1999. His last appearance in the competition on US soil was eight years ago. He played with Stricker at Celtic Manor, two years ago when they won two and lost one. Woods said he met with his hitting coach in between Friday's sessions which helped him swing better in the afternoon. "I made a few adjustments and I really hit it well this afternoon." - AFP |
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