Siosifa Amone, and team-mates, celebrate his try against the Highlanders on Friday. Photo: NSW Waratahs
Two sudden-death tries in two games allowed Australian sides to make the ideal start to the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season.
NSW snatched victory from the gaping mouth of defeat with a 37-36 win over the Dunedin-based Highlanders in their season-opening clash in Sydney on Friday.
A last-minute try to replacement prop Siosifa Amone secured the result in a game that that featured 10 lead changes at Allianz Stadium.
Code-crossing superstar Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii had the type of impact on the game that team-mates and players are looking for.
The Tahs looked ‘gone’ after the Highlanders hit the front for a fifth time shortly after Amone bagged his first try in the 66th minute.
But the front-rower finished off a desperate multi-phase attack seconds before the fulltime siren to give last year’s wooden spooners a winning start to 2025.
The prized signing showcased his freakish aerials skills first, then kept the Tahs in the contest with his silky running game.
In Perth, a last-gasp try by Ben Donaldson sealed a 45-44 win for the Force over the Auckland-based Moana Pasifika.
Donaldson defied an ankle injury to run 70m for a try in the 83rd minute which he then converted to seal the result.
In Suva, Fiji, a weakened ACT Brumbies side scored a 36-32 win over the Fijian Drua on Saturday thanks to two late tries from flanker Luke Reimer.
The hosts led 18-17 at halftime despite two yellow cards in the first half as the visitors made 12 handling errors in the tropical conditions.
The results made the Brumbies the first Australian Super Rugby side to win a game in Fiji.
The Queensland Reds had the bye in the new-look 11-team competition, created by the axing of the Melbourne Rebels.
The Reds are due to host Moana Pasifika at Suncorp this Friday (February 21).
RESULTS AND STANDINGS
All Blacks playmaker Damian McKenzie scored two tries as his Hamilton-based Chiefs side beat defending champions and hosts Blues (Auckland-based) 25-14 on Saturday.
In the season-opening game on Friday, former Wallaby James O’Connor helped set up a Crusaders try in the host side’s 33-25 win over the Wellington-based Hurricanes in Christchurch.
The results leave the Chiefs leading the competition followed by the Crusaders, Brumbies, Force and Waratahs based on points differential.
