Saturday Round-Up

Blue day for Cardiff: The Guinness Pro12 threw up yet another shock result last night, as Welsh outfit the Cardiff Blues succumbed to a heavy 40-24 defeat away at the hands of Italian outfit Treviso. Some woeful defending from both sides, particularly the visiting men from the Welsh capital, saw a chaotic first half end with the hosts going into the interval with a 27-17 lead, courtesy of tries from Loamanu, Esposito, Bacchin and the hugely impressive Jayden Hayward. With the four try bonus point in the bag, it was now just a matter of holding off the inevitable comeback of the Blues and the home side managed to do just that, conceding only 7 points in the second period, with Treviso notching up a further 13 onto the scoreboard. Tries from scrum half Lloyd Williams, Josh Navidi and Adam Thomas provided some degree of respectability for the Blues, but they failed to surmount any real comeback of note, falling heavily to an impressive Treviso side, lead by man of the match Jayden Hayward. With the future of Blues coach Mark Hammett unclear, with many reporting the New Zealander has been sacked, the pressure on the Blues franchise continues to mount.

Saders in narrow win: The Crusaders got back to winning ways in Super Rugby today, after they overcame fellow New Zealand outfit, the Highlanders, in a hard-fought 26-20 win. On their travels for the first time this season, the men from Christchurch were looking for a confidence boosting victory after succumbing to an energetic and fired up performance from the Melbourne Rebels last week. After a frenetic start to the first half, it took until the 17th minute for either side to register a point on the scoreboard, with Colin Slade kicking three points from the tee to get the game ticking. An Aaron Smith try for the hosts followed soon after, as the game sprung into life as it moved into the second quarter. A brace of five pointers from Scott Barrett and Johnny McNicholl handed the visitors a 20-7 lead at the interval and despite a valiant effort in the second period, including a try from All Black Malakai Fekitoa, the visitors held strong for a 6 point win on the road which Crusaders fans will view as the starting point of their season.

Ryan Sheady