The New South Wales Waratahs cemented their place in the top four of the Super 14 with a scrappy 26-3 win over the Lions in Sydney on Saturday. The Waratahs overwhelmed their South African opponents in the second period after both sides had played out a mistake-ridden scoreless first half in wet and windy conditions. It was the second capitulation in consecutive weeks for the bottom placed Lions, who pushed the Canterbury Crusaders for the first half last week only to be overrun in the closing stages. New South Wales moved further clear of the pack chasing semifinal qualification thanks to bonus-point winning tries from captain Phil Waugh, Dean Mumm, Tatafu Polota-Nau and Adam Freier. “It was a terrible first half,” New South Wales coach Ewen McKenzie told Fox Sports. “But we talked about the right things at halftime and they came out and did the business in the second half.” Both teams were guilty of some poor ball handling in the first half, but the Waratahs were particularly sloppy, dropping the ball in good attacking positions at least six times. To make matters worse, Waugh opted against two kickable penalty shots in quick succession, preferring to go for tries.Brumbies down Sharks The ACT Brumbies kept their Super 14 finals hopes alive with a stunning come-from-behind 27-21 win over the Durban-based Sharks in Canberra on Saturday. Trailing 18-7 at halftime, the Brumbies stormed home over an increasingly ill-disciplined Sharks, who crucially had two players sent to the sin-bin during the second period. The Brumbies were completely overwhelmed in the first half, with the Sharks, who should have been leading by more at the break, dominating all aspects of play.Stormers fourth The Stormers withstood a second-half surge by the Wellington Hurricanes to win 20-12 in Cape Town on Saturday. The victory lifted the Stormers to fourth in the table while the Hurricanes slipped to sixth. The home team led 20-0 with 24 minutes left before the Hurricanes rallied with two tries.Bulls maintain form Champions the Bulls regained their winning form on Saturday to beat the Otago Highlanders 47-17 in Pretoria on Saturday. The Bulls played with far greater precision than in last week's 50-22 defeat at home by the Wellington Hurricanes and scored three tries in the first half to lead 28-3 at the break. The home side scored a fourth, bonus point try early in the second half to climb to 11th in the standings but hopes of defending their title are long gone. __
