The Sharks and Bulls secured Currie Cup finals berths while the All Blacks thumped Australia again. Shaun Goosen looks back on the weekend's rugby action.
Bulls and Sharks set up title decider
The Bulls and Sharks will contest the Currie Cup final for the second time this year after their impressive showings in the semi-finals on the weekend. The result of the Bulls’ match against Western Province was never in doubt as they played a superb mix of forward-oriented and expansive rugby to totally outclass WP at Loftus on Friday. The gulf between the two teams was even greater than the emphatic 48-31 scoreline suggests, with Jake White’s men, spearheaded by the electric Johan Goosen, proving far too good.
The Sharks beat unlikely semi-finalists the Griquas 28-24 in Durban on Saturday in a much tighter affair. Sean Everitt’s men were made to work hard but ultimately showed too much for the Kimberley boys. The Durbanites will have a chance to make amends following their loss in January’s Currie Cup final when they tackle the same opponents at Loftus on Saturday.
Unbeaten Kiwis top Rugby Champs log
The All Blacks beat the Wallabies 38-21 at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday to go top of the Rugby Championship standings. Ian Foster’s side have 10 points, one more than the Springboks, and their result on the weekend ensured they swept this year’s Bledisloe Cup series 3-0. New Zealand next face Argentina over the next two weeks and will be confident of reclaiming the championship crown heading into their final matches against the world champions.
For all their promise, Australia again only have themselves to blame following another Test that highlighted their ineffectiveness on defence and poor decision-making with ball in hand. Dave Rennie’s team will regroup before facing South Africa in the next two rounds.
Top 14 back with a bang
The French Top 14 got back underway this weekend. In a repeat of last season’s final, Toulouse claimed a valuable 20-16 win away at La Rochelle while Lyon scored a big 28-19 result at home over Clermont. Racing 92 also got their first win of the campaign in beating Stade Francais 36-21 in Paris.
In other results, Toulon drew 24-all with Montpellier, Brive beat newcomers Perpignan 36-15, Castres saw off Pau 16-12 while newly promoted Biarritz won 27-15 against Bordeaux.
