Steyn kicked 16 points with the boot as the home side had to scramble for the victory with its forward power more than matched by the pace and handling skills of the New Zealand visitors, who had a 17-13 half-time lead.

The scrumming strength of the Sharks saw them open up a 10-point lead halfway through the first half only for the Highlanders to bounce back with two running tries from Malakai Fekitoa and Kane Hames that emphasised their ability with the ball in broken play.

“The Highlanders ran us to pieces at stages in the game, their whole backline was amazing,” admitted Sharks captain Bismarck du Plessis.

“We pride ourselves on our scrumming and we controlled all our set pieces, not losing a single lineout or scrum,” du Plessis said.

The Highlanders led by two points going into the last six minutes of play but relentless home pressure forced two penalties that Steyn booted over to keep alive South African interest in this year’s competition.

The Sharks reached their eighth Super Rugby semi-final and now play the Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday for a place in the final.

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The Brumbies raced out to a 22-3 lead on Saturday night, but as they learnt in last year’s grand final, you can never write off a side chasing their third straight title.

All Blacks fly-half Aaron Cruden spearheaded the fightback as the Chiefs levelled the scores midway through the second half.

But the Brumbies regained the advantage with a converted try from a well-constructed driving maul before Cruden failed to convert a Gareth Anscombe five-pointer with three minutes to go.

It was sweet revenge for the Brumbies as Ben Mowen won what is likely to be his last and 50th game as skipper in front of 14,284 fans at Canberra Stadium.

Workhorse lock Sam Carter was able to constantly get over the advantage line, while it took three Chiefs players to bring down superb winger Henry Speight on most occasions.

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Round 19 saw mass action, with the Brumbies and the Chiefs securing their spots in the finals.

Results

Blues 8-11 Chiefs
Brumbies 47-25 Force
Bulls 40-7 Rebels
Crusaders 34-8 Highlanders
Reds 3-34 Waratahs
Lions 60-25 Cheetahs
Stormers 10-34 Sharks

The Tahs and Crusaders have earned a week off, while this comming weekend, the Brumbies host the Chiefs and the Sharks are at home against the Highlanders.

The lowest ranked winner from the qualifying finals will then play the Waratahs in Sydney in semi-final one. The Highest ranked winner from the qualifying finals will play the Crusaders in Christchurch.

The winner of semi-final one will then play the winner of semi-final two in the grand final, which will be hosted by the highest ranked semi-final winner.

Highlights

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We saw:
Wallabies defeat France 39-13
All Blacks over England 36-13
South Africa squeeze out Wales 31-30
Scotland get up over Argentina 21-19
Japan upset Italy 26-23
Samoa over Fiji 18-13

One international remains, next week we’ll see South Africa take on Scotland.

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New Zealand scored all four of their tries in a spectacular first spell performance to power 29-6 clear before their momentum was stifled after the break.

A tired England looked like they would be on the end of a rout after conceding two early tries to winger Julian Savea – who finished with a hat-trick – and a double to halfback Aaron Smith.

However, they stiffened their resolve in a stop-start second half as the All Blacks’ error rate multiplied in conditions made slippery by light rain.

The result is a body blow for the tourists who had talked up their progress on the tour and their disappointment at losing the first two Tests by close scorelines – 20-15 and 28-27.

It was the best performance of the series from the world champions, who bombed a number of other opportunities in the first spell.

England’s cause wasn’t helped by a yellow card shown to No.8 Billy Vunipola in the 20th minute for a high tackle on Aaron Smith.

Mistakes and errors marred the second half, which included a late yellow card to All Blacks reserve prop Wyatt Crockett.

A sizzling Jane break after the fulltime hooter sent Savea over for his third try, giving the bulldozing winger eight from four Tests against England and 23 from 22 overall.

Centre Malakai Fekitoa was solid in his first Test start, along with No.8 Kieran Read, who was replaced at halftime in his first Test of the year after battling concussion symptoms for the last two months.

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The Wallabies were slammed following their dour 6-0 win in last weekend’s second Test in Melbourne, but they responded with a five-tries-to-one performance that secured a seventh-straight Test triumph.

Israel Folau scored a double, while lock Will Skelton also crossed the stripe in his Test debut.

Skelton made his presence felt, as he not only scored a try but also laid on one for Folau with a deft pass.

The towering 22-year-old lock received a standing ovation from the home crowd as he was replaced by James Horwill midway through the second half.

The Wallabies were always in command and played with more verve from the kick-off to clinch the series after winning the opening Test 50-23 in Brisbane.

It was the first time since 2000 that the Wallabies have won seven consecutive Tests, while the French are still searching for their first win in Australia since 1990.

While Skelton grabbed the headlines, Folau’s two tries took his tally to 13 tries in 18 Tests and fly half Bernard Foley kicked four conversions and two penalties.

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The All Blacks’ identity appears crisis is over. In a brutal, clinical and decisive third quarter, the world champions showed why they are the best side on the planet, scoring three tries and effectively settling the match.

England, who had led at the interval, were blown away, gasping, grasping and, even though they salvaged pride with two tries in the final nine minutes, the sobering reality is that New Zealand have a gear that is beyond England at the moment.

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Even Izzy struggled to make an impact on the French defensive line

Playing in Melbourne, heartland of Australian Rules football, the Wallabies appeared determined to kick away possession, but derived little advantage from the tactic, and blew several promising drives with poor execution.

France executed the first promising move, however, a kick forward in the third minute sparking a foot-race between Foley and French full-back Brice Dulin to the line, but the Wallabies fly half prevailed by inches to cut off the chance.

The Wallabies were controversially denied what would have been the match’s opening try to number eight Ben McCalman on video review in the 22nd minute, prompting howls of derision from the stands.

Arguably the most exciting moment of the match came when Hugart got into a scuffle with Nick Cummins.

The French offered very little on attack, even when throwing the ball around in their carefree French style, it never really appeared to be anything the Wallabies defense couldn’t handle. The French spent most of the match defending with their wings up in the line. Which is what limited the Wallabies in attack.

If you can’t go around, you must either go through or over. With Les Bleus defense in the midfield near impeccable, the Wallabies needed to employ a kicking game. Yet with 14 players in the French line, their kicking options were poor.

Mid field bombs and long range kicks straight to the opponent is not what was needed. More attacking kicks, cross field and over the line, making the French pack, and their big midfielders turn and chance is what should have been employed. There was a complete lack of attacking kicking from the Wallabies.

Bernard Foley failed to identify where the space was and utilize it. As a result, the game was a grind. And not exactly enjoyable to watch.

The French were being dominated by the Wallabies channel one defense, but did the French look for a new tactic? No. For some strange reason they stuck with the one out plays. Possibly shifting their first receiver wider or a more direct pick and drive style would have been better options given the Wallabies defense. Even some outside-inside moves would have created more space for their forward runners.

As a result, the French lost a lot of ground and constantly found themselves on the back foot in attack.

A rather dour match, but never the less, the Wallabies have secured the series with a 6-0 victory.

Highlights

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New Zealand scrape past England in a tight one

With the game locked at 15-15 inside the final four minutes, No 10 Aaron Cruden remarkably turned down a potentially match-winning shot at goal and took a tap penalty.

Somehow his adventure was met with reward – eventually. Replacement prop Wyatt Crockett was held up just short from his drive at the line, but from the resultant scrum the All Blacks were able to finally put Conrad Smith across out wide against the outmanned English defence.

It was a fortunate victory indeed by a very rusty All Blacks side who never found anything approaching their ‘A’ game. A 15th straight test victory and a record 31st on the bounce at home was scarcely deserved, but again showed how good this New Zealand side is at the death of a tight test.

The depleted England side were good. Very good. But they were aided and abetted by an off-key performance from the All Blacks, completely lacking in the rhythm and the pace that you associate with this quality rugby side.

The world champions were strangely shaky under the high ball, awful with their handling, and too often kicked away what little quality ball they were able to muster.

The lack of team cohesion was rust, for sure. But not the handling and continuity errors. That was just poor concentration and execution. Israel Dagg, at fullback, made more errors in 54 minutes than he has for the entirety of the Super Rugby season with the Crusaders.

The first 40 minutes ended at 9-9 on the scoreboard, three penalties apiece, though with England very much on the right side of the balance-of-play ledger.

It was an unusual opening half of the new season from the All Blacks. Rusty, yes. But restrained, too. There was a distinct lack of ambition about their play, and a preponderance of kicking at the expense of keeping ball in hand, and building the phases.

It was as though the world champions were reluctant to be caught in possession by the visiting defensive line, and much of their kicking was either aimless or lacking aim.

Either way, it was England who played most of the positive rugby through the first half and also came closest to breaking the try deadlock. They probably should have scored around the 10-minute mark, but Mike Brown uncharacteristically knocked on with numbers in their favour close to the line.

It was a half very much played at England’s place – slow and methodical. And much of that was of the All Blacks’ doing as they neglected to play the possession football that is their hallmark at their best.

A 40 minutes that lurched from set piece to set piece very much suited the visitors, and some pretty ordinary play under the high ball and 11 missed tackles also failed to ignite the All Blacks’ cause. All told it was an unimpressive start to the new campaign from a side that never really made the step-up in level from Super Rugby.

The All Blacks failed to step up their game through the third quarter and were lucky to head into the final quarter of an hour on level terms, at 12-12, with a fourth penalty apiece.

Brodie Retallick’s big 70th minute break up the middle finally found England’s defence wanting, and when wing Marland Yarde flopped all over the ball, not only was he yellow-carded but Cruden was able to edge the All Blacks in front 15-12.

The lead lasted just three minutes before Danny Cipriani levelled when his own break forced the All Black error at the tackle.

But it was the veteran Conrad Smith who decided things with one of the more crucial tries of his long career.

Aaron Smith was a rare All Black to find some form in this forgettable encounter, the halfback’s sharpness and speed of execution at a level most of his team-mates failed to match

Skipper Chris Robshaw had an outstanding game for the English, while powerhouse No. 8 Ben Morgan also impressed with his ability to get over the advantage line, and sometimes well beyond.

Brown, at fullback, showed the class that saw him named the best player in the Six Nations and big Manu Tuilagi was again a metre-eater with all in hand. There was also plenty to like from a livewire display from inside centre Kyle Eastmond in just his third Test.

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Scotland overcome heat and USA for hard-fought win in Houston

The USA Eagles hoped to profit from their experience of the conditions on Saturday night as they returned to the city for their third high-profile friendly here against Tier 1 opponents in as many years, but Scotland shrewdly did most of the hard work early on to earn Vern Cotter a win in his first match as head coach.

This was a warm-up for their encounter in next year’s World Cup, since both are in Pool B along with South Africa, Samoa and Japan. With the temperature at 31C at kick-off, and humidity wrapping the stadium like a 15-tog blanket, warm was the operative word.

“That was tough, we’re not used to playing in heat like this,” said the Scotland captain, Greig Laidlaw. “It was a dry night but the ball was slippy.” Cotter said the heat created fatigue, which bred mistakes – the most serious committed by the Americans, who entered the game optimistic of victory. However, for the third year in a row they were unable to achieve a prestige triumph that would have acted like a neon sign illuminating the nation’s recent progress.

“I think the game tonight never really picked up any momentum, certainly not from our side but I think in general it was a very stop-start affair,” said the USA coach, Mike Tolkin, who was frustrated by his team’s continued growing pains.

Coming after the 51-3 defeat to Wales in Cardiff in March, this was a solid enough display from Scotland, though they picked up several injuries that Cotter said would be assessed on Sunday.

Scotland are 10th in the IRB rankings, the US 18th. The Scots have waited a long time for Cotter, an understated New Zealander and sometime farmer who was appointed in May last year but remained in France until the expiry of his contract with Clermont Auvergne last month.

“We’ll come back to basics. We want to do the simple things well,” the 52-year-old said. Scotland’s summer tour continues with games against Canada, Argentina and South Africa later this month. The Eagles next meet Japan and Canada, with the undoubted highlight of the year coming in November when they host the All Blacks in Chicago.

Italy beat the US 30-10 here in 2012 but Tolkin’s side ran Ireland far closer in Houston this time last year, losing 15-12 in a tryless, and often trying, friendly before a record home crowd of 20,181. This was far more open and entertaining, though the attendance was fractionally lower: 20,001, a fair number of them in kilts.

Cotter handed debuts to Glasgow Warriors pair Gordon Reid and Finn Russell, and Blair Cowan of London Irish. Alex Allan, who has just joined the Warriors from Edinburgh, was a second-half substitute.

Six of the Eagles’ starting XV play in England. Tolkin gave a first start to fly-half Shalom Suniula, the younger brother of centre Andrew Suniula, while Samu Manoa, the Northampton Saints lock, was unavailable.

Laidlaw saw his penalty kick from about 10 metres inside the US-half cannon off the left-hand post less than three minutes in, but his aim was truer from much shorter range a couple of minutes later. US full-back Chris Wyles levelled the scores with an 11th-minute penalty, which proved to be about as good as it got for the Eagles.

The first try came after a quarter of an hour, as Laidlaw fed Tim Visser for an easy score under the posts. It was a satisfying return to international rugby for the winger, who broke a leg last October. Only a fumble prevented him from scoring again soon afterwards.

The home side were further disrupted by two injuries in the first 20 minutes, with hooker Phil Thiel and Andrew Suniula forced off – an early test for the Eagles’ bench, which Tolkin had identified in the build-up as stronger than in previous years.

Scotland pressed down the left and Visser was denied a second try following a TMO review that determined he had lost control of the ball as he dived over the line. Indiscipline promptly cost the US, as prop Olive Kilifi was yellow-carded for collapsing a scrum before the French referee, Pascal Gauzere, awarded a penalty try. It was converted to make the score 17-3.

The US immediately responded with a powerful drive to the line – and over, it appeared. But on review, captain Todd Clever was found guilty of double movement. Still, it roused the already boisterous crowd, who were energised again when Wyles reduced the deficit with a 30-metre penalty kick 11 minutes into the second period.

However, American hopes of a stunning turnaround evaporated in the 66th minute with the highlight of the night, as full-back Stuart Hogg superbly collected a kick at halfway and dashed imperiously down the wing. Laidlaw converted the try from an acute angle and the tourists saw out the rest of the match.

Clever said that the US did not recover from the setback of his close call at the line. “The callback kind of took the wind out of our sails. We’ve just got to be mentally stronger than that,” he said.

“They didn’t have a platform to really launch their game but they never gave up,” said Cotter. “They’ve got powerful runners, powerful athletes. The energy coming from their team – they just need to channel it.”

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