The Crusaders adapted best to the conditions to beat the Chiefs 26-19 in a tense Super 14 rugby clash here Friday.
With the wind behind them and a dry ground, the Crusaders  ensured the game was played at a frenetic pace in the first half and turned with a 23-16 lead as they outscored the Chiefs two tries to one.
But when the rain came down at halftime, and the Crusaders faced the wind, they switched to a dogged pick-and-drive style as they slugged out the final 40 minutes in which the only rewards were a penalty apiece.

The Waratahs ran in 11 tries to thrash the Lions 73-12 at the Sydney Football Stadium on Friday.
The hosts fired on all cylinders as they outclassed a sorry-looking Lions side who have now lost five in a row. Drew Mitchell scored four tries, Lachie Turner and Josh Holmes both got braces while Wycliff Palu, Dean Mumm and Tom Carter also got in on the act.

The Brumbies managed to scrape past the Sharks for a narrow win in Canberra on Saturday.
For the second time in the week there was heartbreak for the Sharks as they fought all the way to death when a Matt Giteau penalty snatched back the lead to hand the home side victory.

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The Lions suffered their second successive defeat in Australasia when they went down 24-13 to the Brumbies in Canberra on Friday.
The wet conditions made for a forwards battle which the Brumbies’ all-Wallaby pack dominated. The Lions had very little possession to speak of and never really troubled the Brumbies on the scoreboard.

Flyhalf Daniel Carter won a goalkicking duel with former teammate Stephen Brett to lead the Crusaders to a 33-20 win over the Blues in Super 14 rugby Saturday.
Carter kicked seven goals from seven attempts – three conversions and four penalties – for 18 points to steer the seven-time champions to their third win in four matches.
Brett, in his first match for Auckland against his former team, kicked four penalties and a dropped goal for 15 points.  Canterbury scored tries through flanker George Whitelock plus centres Ryan Crotty and Robbie Fruean, while Auckland had a late try by halfback Alby Mathewson.

Referee Paul Marks denied the Sharks a penalty try at the death to gift the Waratahs a four point win in controversial circumstances in Sydney on Saturday.
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The Vodacom Bulls continued their impressive title defence in the Vodacom Super 14 following their 48-38 victory over the Waratahs at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

The victory by the Pretoria outfit was the only successful South African result after the Vodacom Cheetahs (24-31), Vodacom Stormers (19-17), the Auto & General Lions (33-18) and the Sharks (35-6) all conceded defeats this weekend.

Vodacom Bulls winger Francois Hougaard scored a brace of tries while Stephan Dippenaar, Gerhard van den Heever, Wynand Olivier and Jacques-Louis Potgieter all added five-pointers for the hosts.

The Waratahs though secured a bonus point for losing within seven of the Pretoria side. The defeat ensured that the Sydney franchise ended round three in eleventh position, while the Vodacom Bulls continued their dominance at the top of the log.

In Bloemfontein the Highlanders continued their undefeated run over the hosts in Bloemfontein on Saturday. The Otago side has now also won their last five games against the Vodacom Cheetahs, whose only win against the Highlanders was in Invercargill back in 1997 when the tourists outclassed the hosts to triumph 49-18.

The Auto & General Lions are still in search of their first victory in the 2010 Vodacom Super 14 following their 33-18 defeat to the Hurricanes in Wellington. The hosts secured their third win of the competition and are currently in second position on the log after round three.

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Stormers coach Allister Coetzee pronounced himself hugely satisfied with Saturday’s big 54-12 win over the Western Force in the opening Geo Africa Tri-Series game at Newlands.

The Stormers scored seven tries, six of them in the first half, and completely swamped the Australian franchise in the first quarter. However, the excitement needs to be tempered with the knowledge that the Force fielded what amounted to a B team for this match, with most of the first choices only being introduced in the second half.

“It is not time for us to jump up and down with excitement, and we have to make sure we keep our feet on the ground,” said Coetzee.

“I said beforehand that it was about ticking the little boxes, and that the process is the most important thing here. I just want us to be 100% when we play the Lions in the first Super 14 game in February. But our performance was fine. It was good to get it together playing under the intensity, pressure and physicality exerted by the Force.”

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The Stormers skipper Schalk Burger will not partake in the Neo Africa Tri-Series match against the Western Force on Saturday.

The big flanker bruised a quad in training last week, and as he was unable to take full part in the Stormers practice sessions this week. Coach Allister Coetzee has decided it would be wise to leave him out of his plans for this weekend.

The Western Force game is the first match in a pre-season warm-up tournament also featuring the Sharks, who face the Force at Newlands on Tuesday night before ending off against the Stormers at the same venue next Friday.

“Schalk is very disappointed that he cannot play as he has been appointed captain and was eager to lead the team in the first match of the new season,” said Coetzee.

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The Western Force from Australia have signed Andre Pretorius for their 2010 Super 14 campaign.

The 30-year-old sharpshooter was a member of the World Champion Springboks squad at the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France and has compiled just shy of 650 points in Super Rugby for the Johannesburg-based Lions. 

His prolific point-scoring record ranks him seventh on the all-time list in Super Rugby, owing mainly to his radar-like right boot which has so far slotted over 200 goals at provincial level. 

Pretorius assumes the position of Welsh-bound prop Ben Castle in the team’s foreign import slot after eight seasons with the Lions. The creative playmaker’s attacking potency has also been proven on the game’s biggest stage, where he amassed 171 points in just 31 appearances for the Springboks after making his Test debut in 2002.

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