NSW, ACT surge to top of Super 12 - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

NSW, ACT surge to top of Super 12

By Melissa Woods and Jim Morton 29/02/2004 10:15:30 PM Comments (0)

Australian sides completed a clean sweep of the second round of the Super 12, with the unbeaten NSW Waratahs and ACT Brumbies surging to the top of the table.

NSW smashed the Sharks in Sydney 48-14 while the Brumbies backed up their opening win over the Blues with a 68-28 shellacking of the Cats in Canberra.

Queensland centre Steve Kefu shrugged off illness and the threat of a drug ban to cross for two tries as the Reds posted their first points of the season, a 39-25 win over the Chiefs.

The only dampener was the possible loss of five-eighth skipper Elton Flatley, who sustained a cork to the knee and will not train until mid-week when his fitness will be assessed for a tough round three encounter against the winless Crusaders.

New Zealand teams are a surprise absence from the top four, with the South African Stormers and Bulls chalking up wins to move up the ladder.

The best of the Kiwis are the Highlanders, in fifth, while the Blues moved to sixth on the back of their thrilling 38-29 victory over the Crusaders.

Despite the comfortable scoreline, the Waratahs had to grind out the win against the physical Sharks.

With new five-eighth Tim Donnelly again proving his mettle, NSW ran in six tries while in-form fullback Mat Rogers starred with a try and 18 points with his boot.

NSW coach Ewen McKenzie was delighted with their new-found consistency but felt they'd "crept forward" rather than taken a "massive stride".

"I think that if there's a characteristic from the team that we're starting to show it's that we're in the contest for the 80 minutes," McKenzie said.

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