Waratahs on track for play-off berth

Reds come off second best to the Waratahs and Chiefs hold off Sunwolves all while the Highlanders thump the Stormers in these three weekend fixtures

REDS 26 WARATAHS 29

The New South Wales Waratahs kept their season alive with a scrappy win over the Queensland Reds in a Super Rugby match in Brisbane yesterday.

Chasing the ACT Brumbies for top spot in the Australian conference and an automatic play-off berth, the Waratahs got over the line courtesy of flyhalf Bernard Foley, who slotted a penalty with two minutes left at Lang Park to nose his team in front.

Nick Phipps and Michael Hooper scored first-half tries for the Waratahs, with Foley racking up 19 points off the tee.

The Reds had tries from Karmichael Hunt, Lukhan Tui, Izaia Perese and Stephen Moore.

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CHIEFS 27 SUNWOLVES 20

Livewire fullback Damian McKenzie scored two tries as the Waikato Chiefs held off a dogged Sunwolves in Hamilton yesterday.

The pint-sized playmaker touched down in the 40th and 60th minutes and also slotted two conversions and a penalty to rack up 17 points for the hosts on a drizzly night at Waikato Stadium.

In their second season, the Tokyo-based Sunwolves showed their improvement against the dominant New Zealanders and despite having two players sent off after the final siren, they defended stoutly on their tryline to deny the hosts a bonus point.

Fumiaki Tanaka and Derek Carpenter crossed in the second half for the Sunwolves, with Hika Elliot and Solomona Alaimalo scoring early tries for the Chiefs, who notched their eighth win of the season.

HIGHLANDERS 57 STORMERS 14

The Otago Highlanders ran in nine tries in Dunedin to hand the Stormers a thumping at the hands of New Zealand opposition for the second straight week on Friday night.

Fijian winger Patrick Osborne scored two tries and created another for centre Rob Thompson as the home side crossed five times in the first half on their way to their fifth straight win and a record points tally against the Stormers.