The last-minute try by the Blues upset the clean record of the local franchise, Emirates Lions, in the Vodacom Super Rugby match over the weekend.
The Lions faced the Blues on March 10 at Emirates Airlines Park and went down 35-38 at the hands of their opposition.
The Lions had a perfect first half and built up a formidable score of 21-10 at halftime, only to be wiped out by a determined Blues team in the second half.
This was the first defeat in four matches, but the local side still remains in one of the top spots on the log.
The two sides played a high-octane, attacking game and each team scored five tries, with exciting young wing Aphiwe Dyantyi scoring his fourth try in as many games. The Loane brothers, Rieko and Akira, scored three of the Blues’ tries.
In the meantime, Beast Mtawarira produced a superb man of the match performance in his milestone appearance for the Cell C Sharks who comprehensively outplayed the Sunwolves 50-22 in their Vodacom Super Rugby match on Saturday in Durban.
It was the Durbanites’ first win of the campaign and they scored seven tries to three following a solid 24-3 lead at the interval.
Photo: Gordon Arons/Gallo Images.
The experienced Springbok prop with 98 Test caps to his name earned his 138th competition appearance for the Durban side to become their most capped player of all time, surpassing the previous landmark of wing JP Pietersen.
The side of Ruan Botha earned a morale-boosting bonus-point win just a day before they depart to Australia for their away leg of four matches, starting next week in Canberra against the Brumbies.
In the early match on Saturday morning (SA time) that was played in Brisbane, the Vodacom Bulls came close to a win but the Reds did just enough to edge them 20-14 at the Suncorp Stadium. Although the visitors raced into a 14-3 lead, it was the Reds who did well to secure the majority of possession after the interval. John Mitchell’s team now have assignments in New Zealand against the Chiefs and Crusaders.
The DHL Stormers was first in action on Friday morning in Dunedin and they succumbed to a 33-15 defeat to the Highlanders. Nineteen-year-old flyhalf Damian Willemse had a bright match for the Cape side, while another promising youngster Salmaan Moerat (lock), came on as a substitute to make his tournament debut.
Elsewhere, the Rebels outplayed the Brumbies in their Australian Conference derby in Melbourne and moved up to first place on the overall log with 15 points following their third straight bonus-point victory. And in Wellington, the Hurricanes deservedly beat the Crusaders 29-19 to top the early New Zealand conference table.
In the last fixture of the round played late on Saturday night in Buenos Aires, home side Jaguares defeated the Waratahs 38-28 after storming to a 33-7 halftime lead. The Argentine side scored their first win in four matches to end their worst ever starting run.
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