Halai stars as Blues down Hurricanes

Rene Ranger ... scores a five-pointer in the Blues' first-up assignment. Source: Wayne Drought / AP

Sir John Kirwan's reign in charge of the Blues got off to a perfect start on Saturday as debutant Frank Halai scored a match-winning try minutes after being controversially sin-binned to down the Hurricanes 34-20 in their Super Rugby clash in Wellington.

The Blues put memories of a nightmare 2012 season behind them to overcome being reduced to 14 men midway through the second half and hand coach Kirwan a win on debut.

1 Tries 4
Julian Savea 26'	Frank Halai 21'
	Charles Piutau 49'
	Rene Ranger 71'
	Frank Halai 76'
1 Penalty Tries 0
Penalty Try 56'
2 Conversions 1
Beauden Barrett 27'	Piri Weepu 77'
Beauden Barrett 56'
2 Penalties 4
Beauden Barrett 9'	Piri Weepu 5'
Beauden Barrett 19'	Piri Weepu 40'
	Piri Weepu 61'
	Piri Weepu 80'

Their victory was built on strong defence, determination and a killer instinct to cross for four tries, two of them to former NZ sevens star Halai.

Australia Conference		W	L	D	PD	BP	Pts
1	Brumbies	2	0	0	35	1	9
2	Melbourne Rebels	1	1	0	-10	0	4
3	Waratahs	0	0	0	0	0	4
4	Western Force	0	1	0	-7	1	1
5	Reds	0	1	0	-18	0	0
New Zealand Conference		W	L	D	PD	BP	Pts
1	Blues	1	0	0	14	1	5
2	Chiefs	1	0	0	14	1	5
3	Crusaders	0	0	0	0	0	4
4	Highlanders	0	1	0	-14	0	0
5	Hurricanes	0	1	0	-14	0	0
South Africa Conference		W	L	D	PD	BP	Pts
1	Bulls	1	0	0	8	0	4
2	Cheetahs	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Sharks	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Southern Kings	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Stormers	0	1	0	-8	0	0

When he was deemed to have deliberately batted the ball over the dead-ball line to deny Julian Savea a try 15 minutes into the second stanza, the Hurricanes were awarded a penalty try which gave them a 20-16 lead.

Halai was yellow carded but, perhaps feeling hard done by, the Blues were sparked into life with Francis Saili to the fore as they denied the Hurricanes the opportunity to take advantage of their numerical edge and scored a penalty of their own to narrow the gap to a point.

Blues centre Rene Ranger, playing his 50th Super Rugby match, powered past three would-be tacklers to score out wide to hit the front again inside the last 10 minutes.

When Halai, who had scored the first try of the match, crossed with five minutes left the match was theirs.

A penalty to Piri Weepu, who brought up his century of Super Rugby matches, put the icing on the cake for the team who were last in the New Zealand conference in 2012.

There was no inkling of the drama of the second half after an error-strewn opening quarter had the Hurricanes leading 6-3 through two Beauden Barrett penalties after Weepu had given the Blues an early lead.

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Re-live the action with our Super Rugby Match Centre.

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The game burst into life on the 20-minute mark when Blues winger George Moala came inside to bulldoze over Conrad Smith to free space for Halai to score in the corner.

Hurricanes skipper Smith, who later left the field with concussion, went close before the home side's dominance of possession and territory was rewarded when All Black winger Savea crossed for his 10th Super Rugby try.

Weepu kicked a 47m penalty on halftime to see the Blues close the gap to 13-11, and the visitors struck back early after the resumption through impressive fullback Charles Piutau.

Their strong-running midfield backs and the dynamic loose forward Steven Luatua ensured that, and despite losing Halai there was enough in the tank to complete a stirring comeback with two late tries.

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Bogut injures back again

Injury ... Andrew Bogut is out indefinitely say the Warriors. Source: Paul Connors / AP

Australian centre Andrew Bogut's injury-marred NBA season continued on Friday when the Boomers big man was ruled out indefinitely because of back spasms.

Golden State's Bogut was set to take on compatriot Patty Mills when his Warriors hosted the San Antonio Spurs in Oakland.

But Bogut, who has missed 43 of 55 games this season - most due to microfracture surgery on his left ankle - was a late withdrawal.

Golden State coach Mark Jackson said Bogut had an MRI earlier on Friday, but the team failed to release the results of the scan.

Back trouble is nothing new to the No.1 draft pick, who is averaging 7.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 22.5 minutes over his 12 games this season.

Bogut also missed more than half of the 2008-09 NBA season with a stress fracture in his lower back, one game with a mild back strain the following season and five games with a sore back during the 2010-11 season with Milwaukee.

He had been slowly finding his form since returning form the ankle injury on January 28.

Mills had only 10 minutes on the court during Friday's match, which the Warriors won 107-101 in overtime.

Point guard Mills failed to score, with Golden State counterparts Jarrett Jack (30 points and 10 assists) and Stephen Curry (19 points and six assists) starring.

The Warriors hadn't won against San Antonio since another overtime game at home, in January 2008.

Australian Aron Baynes, also on the Spurs' books, was not used in the match.

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Wanderers into seventh heaven

Wander-land ... Joe Gibbs and Michael Thwaite tussle for the ball. Source: Mark Evans / News Limited

Aaron Mooy's first A-League goal secured Western Sydney Wanderers' seventh straight win as they ground out a 1-0 home win over struggling Perth Glory to ensure their qualification for the finals in their debut season.

The Wanderers on Saturday became the first team since Melbourne Victory in 2006 to win seven on the trot but were made to work hard by a doughty Glory outfit at Parramatta Stadium.

Ultimately the Wanderers needed a little touch of fortune for the deciding goal with Mooy's 58th-minute shot deflecting off Glory defender Michael Thwaite and past goalkeeper Danny Vukovic.

It was no more than the Wanderers deserved as they created the majority of chances and were the more offensively-minded side.

However, they struggled to find the final pass or shot and weren't as slick as in some of their recent wins.

Perth fought hard in their second match under caretaker coach Alistair Edwards and for a long period looked as if they might add another point to the three they secured in Edwards' first match in charge against pacesetter Central Coast last week.

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Relive the Wanderers momentous win over Perth Glory in our A-League Match Centre, featuring video highlights.

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Glory had a brief purple patch just after the 80th minute with substitute Ryo Nagai firing in two shots and Liam Miller one, all in the space of three minutes.

The Wanderers did most of the attacking in the first half.

Mark Bridge had a 44th-minute attempt from the edge of the area pushed away by Vukovic who was in position to more comfortably snuff out shots from Joe Gibbs and Shinji Ono.

Perth's only on-target first-half effort was a 36th-minute Thwaite header from a corner which went straight into the hands of Wanderers goalkeeper Ante Covic, who had little to do in his 100th A-League appearance.

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Chiefs earn bonus point in opener

Aaron Cruden ... orchestrates a thrilling first-up win for the Chiefs. Source: AAP

The Chiefs began their defence of the Super Rugby title on Friday with a 41-27 bonus point win over the Highlanders in a thrilling clash in Dunedin.

Lightweight outside centre Tim Nanai-Williams used his blistering pace to score the first and last of the Chiefs' four tries.

3 Tries 4
Ben Smith 12'	Tim Nanai-Williams 15'
Hosea Gear 38'	Patrick Osborne 46'
Kade Poki 48'	Aseli Tikoirotuma 61'
	Tim Nanai-Williams 66'
3 Conversions 3
Lima Sopoaga 13'	Gareth Anscombe 17'
Lima Sopoaga 40'	Gareth Anscombe 62'
Lima Sopoaga 50'	Gareth Anscombe 67'
2 Penalties 5
Lima Sopoaga 44'	Gareth Anscombe 5'
Lima Sopoaga 57'	Gareth Anscombe 22'
	Gareth Anscombe 25'
	Gareth Anscombe 70'
	Gareth Anscombe 74'

The teams exchanged tries - seven in total - as play swept from one end to the other of Dunedin's enclosed stadium.

Australia Conference		W	L	D	PD	BP	Pts
1	Brumbies	1	0	0	18	0	4
2	Melbourne Rebels	1	0	0	7	0	4
3	Waratahs	0	0	0	0	0	4
4	Western Force	0	1	0	-7	1	1
5	Reds	0	1	0	-18	0	0
New Zealand Conference		W	L	D	PD	BP	Pts
1	Chiefs	1	0	0	14	1	5
2	Crusaders	0	0	0	0	0	4
3	Blues	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Hurricanes	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Highlanders	0	1	0	-14	0	0
South Africa Conference		W	L	D	PD	BP	Pts
1	Bulls	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	Cheetahs	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Sharks	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Southern Kings	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Stormers	0	0	0	0	0	0

At its most frenetic, two tries and 15 points were scored as the lead changed hands three times in three minutes immediately after halftime.

More to follow...

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Kangaroos start with win over Demons

Battle ... Kangaroos defender Ben Cunnington looks to offload in the NAB Cup. Source: George Salpigtidis / News Limited

The AFL's first Sudanese-born player Majak Daw showed glimpses of his exciting athletic potential in a North Melbourne pre-season win over Melbourne at Etihad Stadium.

1.2.2 (23)	Q1	0.2.2 (14)
1.4.5 (38)	Q2	0.5.6 (36)
	Q3
	Q4

Lachlan Hansen 1	Jeremy Howe 2
Ben Jacobs 1	Jesse Hogan 1
Drew Petrie 1	Dean Kent 1
Robbie Tarrant 1	Jack Watts 1
Lindsay Thomas 1

The Kangaroos beat a Demons side stacked with new faces 1.4.5 (38) to 0.5.6 (36) in the first match of Friday night's triple-header, also involving Richmond.

While Daw, elevated to North's main list at the end of last season after three years as a rookie, didn't do a lot, what he did do stood out.

The powerful 195cm forward-ruckman took a strong pack mark in defence midway through the first half.

Soon after he produced a nice ruck tap from a boundary throw-in to set up a nine-point super goal for ex-Port Adelaide recruit Ben Jacobs.

It was a bright start in Kangaroos colours for Jacobs, who had set up North's first goal with a kick into attack which allowed Lindsay Thomas to take a high-leaping mark over Demons recruit David Rodan.

Another Melbourne recruit, Shannon Byrnes, was involved in letting in the opposition for a goal later in the half, being run down by Kangaroos veteran Brent Harvey, with the turnover setting up Lachie Hansen to mark and goal.

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There were a few good signs for the Demons.

Big-leaping Jeremy Howe kicked two second-half goals from marks, to tighten the contest after the Kangaroos threatened to run away with it.

The Demons would have been thrilled to see hulking 18-year-old Jesse Hogan use his body cleverly to mark late in the first half, then thread through a goal from the pocket.

The only problem is they'll have to wait more than a year to watch him do something similar in a game for premiership points, as the under-aged recruit is only allowed to participate in the pre-season this year.

Nathan Jones continued his best-and-fairest form from last season, while midfield father-son recruit Jack Viney had some good moments, but ex-Collingwood key forward Chris Dawes had a quiet start in Demons colours.

Captain Andrew Swallow was North's best player.

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Live: swimmers bare all

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In the gun ... Eamon Sullivan, James Roberts, James Magnussen and Matt Targett. Source: Gregg Porteous / News Limited

Members of Australia's 4x100m freestyle relay team have admitted abusing prescription drugs in the lead-up to last year's London Olympics.

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Fronting a media conference in Sydney on Friday, the swimmers admitted using the sedative Stilnox as part of a "bonding session".

They now face sanctions from the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) which could include bans and fines.

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The AOC banned athletes from using Stilnox and other prescription sedatives about three weeks before the start of the London Games.

Five of the six freestyle relay squad members - James Magnussen, Tommaso D'Orsogna, Cameron McEvoy, Eamon Sullivan and Matthew Targett - admitted to all taking one Stilnox tablet during their bonding session at the pre-Games camp in Manchester.

Fellow swimmer James Roberts was with his teammates during the "bonding session" but did not take Stilnox.

Australian Swimmers' Association general manager Daniel Kowalski read out a statement on the relay swimmers' behalf at Friday's media conference.

"We all acknowledge that at the time Stilnox was consumed, it had been recently prohibited by the AOC," Kowalksi read.

"We own up to it ... and are deeply sorry for it."

Favoured to win the gold medal in London, a team of Magnussen, Targett, Sullivan and Roberts swam the final and finished fourth.

The swimmers believed the bonding session was "harmless fun".

All six will now also face a Swimming Australia integrity panel.

World 100m champion Magnussen and Sullivan insisted taking Stilnox had no effect "at all" on their swim performances in London.

Magnussen said the prescription drug was taken "to bond with these guys".

"In hindsight it was a ridiculous choice and ridiculous method ... but I don't feel it affected my performance," Magnussen said.

The revelations came a day after Swimming Australia created its integrity panel in the wake of two damning reviews released publicly on Tuesday.

One review, into culture and leadership, found a "toxic" culture cruelled Australia's swim team at last year's London Olympics.

Australian swimmers won just one gold, six silver and three bronze medals at the London Games, the lowest tally in the pool in two decades.

The nation also failed to produce an individual gold medallist for the first time since the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

The review cited incidents of "getting drunk, misuse of prescription drugs, breaching curfews, deceit, bullying" which were not addressed by team hierarchy.

A separate review, into swimming's governance and high performance program, identified shortcomings including a lack of clear national vision and poor accountability, transparency and communication.

It also found Swimming Australia's board was unable to deal with issues and made 35 recommendations to improve governance and the high performance program.

Replay our live coverage of the press conference below.

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Clarke demands big hundreds

Ton up ... Michael Clarke has led by example the past year. Source: Brett Costello / News Limited

Australia captain Michael Clarke has put his batsmen on notice that a nice 50 isn't going to cut it on this tour of India.

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The skipper says if the tourists are going to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in the four-Test series starting on Friday in Chennai they'll have to cash in whenever one of their specialist batsmen gets a start.

While the game's leading runscorer Sachin Tendulkar hasn't scored a Test hundred in the past two years, Clarke is expecting the little master to fire against Australia and the skipper is demanding the tourists show the same level of application.

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"Like all players it's always tough at the start of your innings,'' Clarke told reporters on Thursday.

"What I know about players like Sachin is once they get in, especially in conditions they're so accustomed to, it's really difficult to get them out.

"So the key is if you get any sort of momentum in the subcontinent you have to run with it for as long as you possibly can.

"One of the things I spoke to the boys the other day about is that it's more crucial here if you get a start to go on and make a big score.

"So if you make a 50, a 60, a 70, and get out, you're more accountable there than the guy who made zero because it is a really difficult place to start, especially against spin or walking in against the reverse-swinging ball.

"So the guys who get a start, it's up to them to take the team forward and keep running with that momentum.

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"The same if we get a wicket. We know it's hard for the new batter to start, so we need to be on our game as soon as that new batter comes in and run with the momentum for as long as possible.''

Clarke has led by example with over 1000 runs with three hundreds including two double tons and four half-centuries in the past 12 months in nine Tests.

His vice-captain Shane Watson, who will remain at No.4 despite preferring a return to his favourite spot at the top of the order, is one player who immediately springs to mind in terms of converting starts into big scores.

Watson has a record of 19 half-centuries and two hundreds in 38 Tests and could be the difference between the two sides if he can turn his starts into big scores.

The ex-Queenslander, who now plays for NSW, says he has been inspired by Hayden's 549-run performance on the three-Test tour of India in 2001.

"That really was the catalyst for him as a Test cricketer. So everyone draws inspiration from what Matty Hayden did,'' Watson said.

While Watson wants to open but is happy to bat at No.4 if that's what the team needs, Clarke has admitted he would also potentially benefit from a change in batting position but is staying at No.5 for team balance.

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Smith axing tough for Robinson

Trent Robinson ... faced a bittersweet moment when taking on Roosters role. Source: Sam Ruttyn / News Limited

Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson admits it was a bittersweet moment being offered the opportunity to coach the NRL club after the axing of close friend and mentor Brian Smith.

Smith was shown the door at the end of last season after missing out on the finals for a second successive year.

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Robinson, who at 35 is the youngest coach in the NRL, worked under Smith at Parramatta and again at Newcastle then followed him to the Roosters in 2010 as assistant coach.

So when he got the call from Roosters supremo Nick Politis to replace his former boss, Robinson made sure he spoke to Smith before accepting.

"It was difficult seeing someone you've worked with for so long hurting,'' Robinson.

"You don't like seeing anyone losing their job. So when I got the opportunity here it was difficult.

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"But I know Brian well enough and he knows opportunities in rugby league don't come up very often and this was a great opportunity for me.

"I thought it important to let him know they were considering me for the job and I was close to getting it.

"He's been in rugby league a long time and he knows how it works and wished me well.''

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Despite admitting taking over of a Roosters side packed with talented names such as Sonny Bill Williams, Michael Jennings and Mitchell Pearce is his dream job, Robinson says he was in no rush to leave France.

A fluent French speaker and living at the foot of the Pyranees, Robinson was very settled in Europe with his French partner of nine years, who will give birth to their second child next month.

After guiding the Catalans to sixth spot in his first season he was named Super League coach of the year, and in his second he secured a top-four finish.

It was enough to make Politis pick up the phone and entice him home to Sydney.

"I was never really interested in coaching an English team in the Super League,'' he said.

"I am very passionate about rugby league in France and its development. I'd played over there for Toulouse and I loved living out there.

"But coaching in the NRL is always what I aspired to. Having worked here before and knowing the club, most of the players, the board, the office staff, it was an easy decision in the end.''

Having worked under Politis before, Robinson is aware patience is not something in great supply at Bondi Junction.

Robinson will be the club's fourth coach since 2007, as Politis desperately tries to find the coach to deliver him a first premiership since 2002.

And the new man knows the luxury of a star-studded roster increases the pressure on his shoulders.

"It's a good position to be in,'' he said.

"There will be pressure on me and the players. But this is a club where there's always been high expectations.

"Nick loves his club with a passion and he wants to win. We speak regularly and ultimately he'll want to see results.

"Every coach knows that's what you'll be judged on. It's no different here to any other club in the NRL.''

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Cassio's 150 reasons to celebrate

Defender ... Cassio celebrates a special milestone against Wellington. Source: Liam Driver / News Limited

Adelaide United's most loved player Cassio will celebrate his 150th Reds match on Sunday.

The Brazilian is Adelaide's current longest-serving player after joining the Reds in 2007.

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His milestone will be played out in New Zealand, which was the scene of the worst moment in his Reds career.

Although Adelaide faces Wellington Phoenix in Wellington for the first time since Cassio was forced out of the game with a foot injury in 2011, the Brazilian-born new Australian remembers the Auckland incident well.

That injury forced Cassio to seek medical help in Brazil where he made a return to Adelaide after just 40 days, without surgery.

The original prognosis in Adelaide was surgery and possibly a year out of the game.

But he said Adelaide had given him some of the most unbelievable experiences in his career.

"The best moment as a player with the club is the (AFC) Champions League campaign in 2008," he said.

"We went through the whole system and we got to the grand final. We did very good and we should be proud of that."

Cassio, skipper Eugene Galekovic, Fabian Barbiero, Osama Malik and former skipper and current coach Mike Valkanis are the only survivors from 2008.

Bruce Djite played in the group stages before heading to Turkey and returning to the Reds in 2011.

Djite had another setback this week when he rolled his ankle at training.

Djite was coming back from a groin injury and missed this morning's session at Santos Stadium.

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Victorian bats dominate Bulls

Century ... Cameron White hits an impressive ton against Queensland. Source: Michael Dodge / News Limited

Victoria has the inkling of a chance to move a game clear at the top of the Sheffield Shield table after a dominant batting performance against Queensland at the MCG on Wednesday.

The Bushrangers secured first-innings points on the third day, piling up 9-536 declared in reply to Queensland's 322, behind centuries from captain Cameron White, Michael Hill and Chris Rogers.

SHEF - Melbourne Cricket Ground

18 February 2013 - Day 3, Session 3

Queensland 2nd Innings

G. Moller	19	48	3	0	39.58
L. Pomersbach	28	43	5	0	65.12

Queensland will resume their second innings on Thursday at 0-60, still 154 runs behind.

White's Victorians, who came into this match equal with Queensland, will be six points clear at the top with two matches remaining if they can grab an outright win on a wearing strip.

Even if the match is drawn the Bushrangers will grab top position.

Left-hander Hill's patient 144 was his first-ever Shield century for his state and just his second ton in first class cricket, eked out over 414 minutes and 323 balls.

He added 186 for the fourth wicket with White, who was explosive at times, returning to some of his best form in scoring the identical total, 144 in 321 minutes with 16 fours and three big sixes.

It was White's first Shield century since the 2008-09 final, and his first ton at first class level since November, 2010.

The runs came at the expense of a Queensland bowling attack weakened by Ben Cutting and Alister McDermott's selection in an Australia 'A' team, and the knee injury to fast bowler Matthew Gale, who was not able to bowl on Wednesday.

In their absence, off-spinner Nathan Hauritz toiled through 54.3 overs to take 5-135.

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