Crusaders Beat Blues to Keep Playoff Hopes Alive in Super Rugby

Kurtley Beale, right, of the Western Force runs at the defence during the Super Rugby Pacific match between the Queensland Reds and the Western Force at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (Darren England/AAP Image via AP)ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kurtley Beale, right, of the Western Force runs at the defence during the Super Rugby Pacific match between the Queensland Reds and the Western Force at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (Darren England/AAP Image via AP)ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Crusaders Beat Blues to Keep Playoff Hopes Alive in Super Rugby

Kurtley Beale, right, of the Western Force runs at the defence during the Super Rugby Pacific match between the Queensland Reds and the Western Force at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (Darren England/AAP Image via AP)ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kurtley Beale, right, of the Western Force runs at the defence during the Super Rugby Pacific match between the Queensland Reds and the Western Force at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (Darren England/AAP Image via AP)ASSOCIATED PRESS

The defending champion Crusaders kept their playoff chances alive with the upset of the season Saturday, beating the Auckland-based Blues 29-27 in Super Rugby Pacific.

The Crusaders came into the match with only two wins from 12 games, in 11th place on the 12-team table. The Blues had lost only once and were trying to return to the top with one round left in the regular season.

But after a woeful campaign by the 12-time champion Crusaders — the worst in their history — they finally produced a performance reminiscent of the past. The win could lift them as high as ninth, within reach of the top-eight playoff zone, ahead of their last regular-season match against Moana Pasifika, The AP reported.

“I think (a performance like this) has been there but we haven’t capitalized on opportunities,” said captain Codie Taylor, who spent much of a physical match bloodied from a head gash.

“It was a massive week for us. We knew what we were up against with the Blues, a real class side. You could see they deserve to be where they are. But there was a lot of chat about the boys who have been before us and what this meant to them, and it was good to get a result.”

The match was close but for a period between the 22nd and 35th minutes when Blues prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi scored two tries to give his team a 15-7 lead.

But the Crusaders scored a vital try through winger Chay Fihaki right on halftime and cut the deficit at the break to three points.

That set up a thrilling second half in which the Crusaders captured the lead for the first time in more than 40 minutes after a try by scrumhalf Noah Hotham. That gave them a 26-22 advantage which became 29-22 after a penalty from Fihaki in the 67th.

The Blues rallied with a try by winger A.J. Lam but flyhalf Harry Plummer missed the sideline conversion and the Crusaders clung to their two-point margin to the joy of a capacity crowd.

“It was pretty tough, a hard one for us,” Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu said. “We were confident going into the second half, especially with momentum. Throughout the whole game there was a lot of ill-discipline and that was disappointing for us.”

The loss sends a playoff warning to the Blues, who looked formidable while building an 11-1 record. While they looked solid in the first half, they lost their shape and patience in the second. They were best when they stacked together phases but, as tension built, they played more individually and the Crusaders capitalized.

In Brisbane, the Queensland Reds consolidated their fifth-place position with a 59-13 win over the Western Force. In Auckland, Moana Pasifika beat the New South Wales Waratahs 27-12 in their last home match of the season.

It was an emotional occasion for Moana Pasifika, who will farewell three stalwarts when the regular season ends next weekend. Former Wallabies Sekope Kepu and Christian Leali’ifano and foundation captain Solomone Funaki all are retiring, and were joined on the field by their families before the match.

The emotion was heightened because Kepu scored a try, his first for Moana Pasifika and sixth in 162 matches in Super Rugby.

Moana Pasifika also showed off a rising star, fullback Kyren Taumoefolau, who scored their first try and had a hand in their second, the first of a double by Folau Inisi.

After leading 14-0 at halftime, Inisi scored his second try from the restart and Kepu’s try made the lead 27-0.

The Waratahs rallied with tries from Langi Gleeson and Izaia Perese.



England Coach Southgate Targeted After a 0-0 Draw with Slovenia at Euro 2024 

England's head coach Gareth Southgate gestures to fans after the UEFA Euro 2024 Group C football match between England and Slovenia at the Cologne Stadium in Cologne on June 25, 2024. (AFP)
England's head coach Gareth Southgate gestures to fans after the UEFA Euro 2024 Group C football match between England and Slovenia at the Cologne Stadium in Cologne on June 25, 2024. (AFP)
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England Coach Southgate Targeted After a 0-0 Draw with Slovenia at Euro 2024 

England's head coach Gareth Southgate gestures to fans after the UEFA Euro 2024 Group C football match between England and Slovenia at the Cologne Stadium in Cologne on June 25, 2024. (AFP)
England's head coach Gareth Southgate gestures to fans after the UEFA Euro 2024 Group C football match between England and Slovenia at the Cologne Stadium in Cologne on June 25, 2024. (AFP)

Top of the group, unbeaten and on the favorable side of the draw for the knockout phase of Euro 2024. It’s a case of job done for England at this stage of the tournament.

Try telling that to the fans who jeered loudly and threw plastic cups as the final whistle blew on a 0-0 draw with Slovenia at Cologne Stadium on Tuesday.

Criticism of England's performances in Germany has been fierce.

“I’ve not seen any team qualify and receive similar,” manager Gareth Southgate said.

Southgate believes he and his England team could be paying the price for its success under his leadership. Safe passage through to the round of 16 maintains his personal record of advancing from the group stage of every major tournament he's taken charge of, dating back to the World Cup in 2018.

“I think probably expectation (is different). We’ve made England over the last six or seven years fun again. I think it has been enjoyable for the players,” Southgate said. “We’ve got to be very, very careful that it stays that way.”

England hasn't been fun to watch at these Euros with a 1-0 win against Serbia its only victory in Group C. That was followed by a 1-1 draw with Denmark and the scoreless draw with Slovenia.

Three games, two goals and a whole lot of underwhelmed fans.

The performance against Denmark was apparently so uninspired that former captain and now BBC presenter Gary Lineker used an expletive to describe it. And despite claiming he was “oblivious” to Lineker's stinging critique, it contributed to the “unusual environment” Southgate said he was working in at this tournament.

The atmosphere was hardly helped by plastic cups being thrown on the field as Southgate and his players went to applaud England supporters after the match.

“I’m not going to back down from going over and thanking the fans who were brilliant during the game," he said. “They might feel differently towards me. But for me, we only will succeed if we are together.”

Southgate led England to the semifinals of the World Cup in 2018 and the final of the last Euros. But his team will likely need a sharp upturn in form if it is to live up to its pre-tournament billing as one of the favorites for the European title.

Still, England has at least ended up on the opposite side of the draw to Spain, France, Germany and Portugal and will play one of the best third-place teams in the next round after advancing as group winner.

“That was the aim before the start of the tournament. Come top of the group and control our destiny,” captain Harry Kane said.

The result also meant Slovenia reached the round of 16 for the first time and Croatia was eliminated.

“We are such a small country, with such a big heart and mental strength. That’s why I’m very proud of my team,” coach Matjaz Kek said. “This is only the beginning for a new and beautiful era for Slovenian football.”

While it was a proud night for Slovenians, it was another performance that highlighted England’s attacking issues, with substitute Cole Palmer coming closest to scoring a winner in stoppage time.

“You can’t go into every game with such pressure and score four goals. Football doesn’t work like that,” Southgate said. “It is important to win the group to control your own destiny.”

A masked Kylian Mbappé scored his first goal of the Euros, but France drew 1-1 with Poland to finish runner-up in Group D behind Austria, which beat the Netherlands 3-2.

Mbappé wore a protective mask after breaking his nose in France’s opening game against Austria and scored from the penalty spot. But Robert Lewandowski’s twice-taken spot kick gave already eliminated Poland its first point of the tournament.