The Waratahs' Israel Folau left, is tackled by the Brumbies' Tevita Kuridrani during their Super Rugby Match in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, June 28, 2014. —AP Photo SYDNEY — Winger Alofa Alofa scored a try in each half to fire the New South Wales Waratahs to an emphatic 39-8 win over the ACT Brumbies and to the top spot in Super Rugby Saturday. Prop Benn Robinson, flyhalf Bernard Foley and No. 8 Wycliff Palu also touched down at Sydney Football Stadium as the Waratahs ensured they would finish top in the Australian conference and secure a guaranteed berth in the playoffs. The loss left last year's finalists, the Brumbies, all but out of contention for the postseason, as they have a bye in one of the last two rounds and cling tenuously to sixth spot. Fullback Jesse Mogg scored the visitors' sole try in the first half. Three points ahead of the second-placed Sharks, the Waratahs' celebrations were dampened only by a serious knee injury to captain Dave Dennis, who was taken from the field in the first half. Hurricanes beat Crusaders In New Zealand, lock Blade Thompson scored two tries to lift the Hurricanes to a 16-9 win over the Crusaders Saturday, keeping alive their hopes of reaching the Super Rugby playoffs. Thompson scored on 23 minutes off a floated pass from flyhalf Beauden Barrett to give the Wellington-based Hurricanes an 11-3 lead at halftime, then completed a double in the 73rd with a 60 meter-dash for the try that clinched the match. The Hurricanes' eighth win of the season lifted them from sixth to fifth place on a crowded championships ladder, just a point behind the Crusaders who took a bonus point to stay in fourth. But the Hurricanes have only one match remaining in the regular season while most of their playoffs rivals have two. The Crusaders pressured the Hurricanes' line but couldn't score and saw the match snatched from them after Thompson ran onto a short kick from winger Cory Jane, won a favorable bounce, and ran 60 meters to score. “It was a great effort, the boys just never gave up,” Hurricanes captain Jeremy Thursh said. “The boys worked so bloody hard on defense to keep them out. “Set piece was a bit of trouble — they're world class there — but the rest of our game we kept the attitude up and came away with a good result.” Blues thrash Force A stunning opening assault from the Auckland Blues powered them to a 40-14 win over the Western Force in their Super 15 clash in Perth. The Blues produced some of their best rugby of the season in the opening 20 minutes to shock the Force, who were desperate to win to keep their finals hopes on track. However, it was the visitors that made all the play from the outset to keep their own slim playoff hopes alive and turn around their poor away form, storming to a match-winning 26-0 lead on the back of four tries in the first 18 minutes of play. The carnage started in just the fourth minute, when Ihaia West took advantage of a great bounce from a chip kick and ran in the opening try. —Agencies
