SYDNEY, Australia —
James O'Connor kicked 11 points as
the Queensland Reds ended ACT Brumbies' unbeaten start to the Super Rugby
Pacific season, while the Canterbury Crusaders kept up the pressure at the top
with a narrow victory over the Otago Highlanders.
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The Reds' convincing 21–7 win in Brisbane drew them level
with the Canberra-based Brumbies at the top of the 12-team table on 26 points.
The 12-time champion
Crusaders are three adrift, but with a
game in hand, after inflicting a sixth straight defeat on Aaron Smith's Highlanders
in a nail-biting 17–14 triumph.
Wallabies skipper
Michael Hooper, made a successful return
for the NSW Waratahs, scoring a try after coming on as a substitute in his
first match for the team since suffering a foot injury against England at
Twickenham last November.
The Reds defied a red card to Tuaina Tualima for a high hit
on O'Connor to beat the Brumbies with Fraser McReight scoring a try during the
20 minutes they were down to 14 men.
Winger Filipo Daugunu also banked five points with
O'Connor's three penalties and a conversion ensuring the win.
But there were also plenty of missed chances. "We left
a lot of points out there," said Reds coach Brad Thorn.
His opposite number Dan McKellar was more blunt, calling
Brumbies' performance "dreadful".
"I don't think it was a very good game of footy ... I
get really frustrated with people who bag the game but I think both teams will
review that and understand we need to be a whole lot better," he said.
In Christchurch, the Crusaders sneaked past the battling
Highlanders with all the points coming in the first half.
Both teams scored two tries with a penalty from All Blacks
fly-half Richie Mo'unga in the 26th minute proving decisive.
Hooper 'invaluable'
"It was a heck of a battle," said Crusaders
captain Scott Barrett, whose team endured heavy pressure in the second
half.
"The conditions forced both teams into playing that
pressure game and it was a real see-saw right to the final whistle."
The
Auckland Blues are fourth, a point behind the Crusaders,
after two wins over Moana Pasifika in the space of five days. The Blues also
have a game in hand on the Reds and Brumbies.
They toppled the Pacific island newcomers 32–19 in a
rearranged midweek match after their original clash was postponed early in the
season because of
COVID-19, then turned the screws with a 46-16 hammering on
Saturday.
They ran in 12 tries over the two matches in Auckland, with
hooker Kurt Eklund bagging a hat-trick on Saturday.
On Australia's Gold Coast, Hooper made a triumphant return
for the NSW Waratahs, needing just 11 minutes after coming on as a second-half
substitute to score one of their six tries in a bonus-point 38–14 thumping of
Fijian Drua, who have won just one from seven.
Stand-in captain
Jed Holloway said having Hooper back was a
huge boost for the team, who are fifth in the table.
"His name speaks for itself and just having him around
the crew is invaluable," Holloway said of the champion flanker.
The
Waikato Chiefs hung on despite a late Wellington
Hurricanes fightback to win a thriller 30–29 on Sunday.
The teams shared seven tries — three of them coming in a
frenetic opening eight minutes — but it was the three penalties kicked by the
Chiefs' Josh Ioane that proved the difference.
Western Force and Melbourne Rebels had a bye.
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