Kiwi teams dominate day one of Brisbane Global Rugby Tens

Kiwi teams dominate day one of Brisbane Global Rugby Tens

The Blues, Chiefs and Crusaders set the pace on day one of the Brisbane Global Rugby Tens, with all three New Zealand powerhouse clubs ending the day undefeated.

Of the three, the Blues were perhaps the most impressive, wracking up 76 points in thumping wins over the Reds and Panasonic Wild Knights.

All Blacks flanker Akira Ioane and young tyro Caleb Clarke were particularly impressive for the Tana Umaga-coached side, while Carlos Spencer turned in a tidy cameo in his return to Blues colours in the 47-10 thumping the Wild Knights.

Having stunned the Melbourne Rebels in their opening match, Robbie Deans’ Wild Knights are still well in contention despite the heavy defeat to the Blues.

The same can’t be said for the Reds, who are now clinging to a slender thread after losing their second game in a thriller to the Rebels. A last gasp try to Mahe Vailanu stole a 21-17 victory for the Rebels, after a storming effort from prop Taniela Tupou looked to have earned the Reds a hard-fought victory.

Now the ‘home’ team must beat the Wild Knights in their final pool game and hope the rampant Blues inflict a heavy defeat upon the Rebels.

The Chiefs began their title defence in style, defeating the Highlanders and Pau to all but book their place in the knockout stages. A 17-12 victory over the Highlanders in a tight tussle followed by a 31-7 romp over Section Paloise (Pau) extended the Chiefs’ winning run at the tournament to seven matches. In 2017 they lost their opening match before posting five straight victories to claim the title.

Star-studded French outfit Pau repeated the struggles of last year’s Top 14 visitors Toulon (who went winless in three games), losing heavily to the Waratahs and Chiefs.

The Highlanders came within seconds of elimination on day one, only to salvage their tournament hopes by overcoming a 0-10 deficit to the Waratahs. Tevita Nabura sealed the comeback with a try 30 seconds from the end to hand the Highlanders a 12-10 victory.

The Waratahs face a must-win final pool game against the Chiefs on Saturday, while the Highlanders take on winless Pau.

Ben Lam scored a try and saved one with a miraculous tackle in the dying seconds against Fiji as the Hurricanes kept their hopes alive with a hard-fought 12-5 victory. It was a much-needed result for the Hurricanes following a first up 22-0 drubbing by the Crusaders.

The Crusaders hammered the Brumbies 31-7 in the final match of the day to book their spot in the finals, leaving the Brumbies and Hurricanes to square off in a virtual elimination contest in the final match of pool play on Saturday.

With the top two qualifiers from pool play earning direct passage to semi-finals, the impressive Crusaders will be unlikely to take their foot off the pedal in their final pool match against Fiji.

In the women’s competition, New South Wales set the pace, defeating fierce rivals Queensland 19-5 before thrashing the Rebels Women 27-0.

Queensland rebounded from their first up defeat with a 33-0 victory over the Brumbies women, setting up the likelihood of rematch with New South Wales in the final.

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