The Western Force overcame a 13-0 halftime deficit to beat Canterbury 24-16 Friday and prevent the seven-time champion Crusaders from taking over first place in Super 14 rugby. Pekahou Cowan, Matthew Hodgson and Ben Whittaker scored tries in the final 40 minutes as the Force won for only the third time in 10 matches. The Canterbury loss left the top four teams in the tournament level with 34 points each. The Stormers, which lost to the Queensland Reds 16-13 earlier Friday, are in first place on points differential ahead of the Crusaders, the defending champion Bulls and the Reds. A late penalty goal by the Force's David Hill prevented the Crusaders from picking up a bonus point for losing by seven or fewer points. Chiefs, Cheetahs tie The Waikato Chiefs scored five tries but suffered an embarrassing goalkicking drought to draw 25-25 with South Africa's Cheetahs in Super 14 rugby Friday. Colin Bourke, Dwayne Sweeney, Toby Smith, Hika Elliot and Liam Messam scored tries for Waikato but flyhalf Stephen Donald and center Callum Bruce jointly missed eight out of eight shots at goal. The Bloemfontein-based Cheetahs, at the end of a winless four-match Australasian tour, trailed 20-10 at halftime before second-half tries from W.P. Nel and center Meyer Bosman. The second-half comeback was a boost for the Cheetahs, who had lost their earlier tour matches 40-17 to the New South Wales Waratahs, 61-15 to the ACT Brumbies and 45-6 to the Canterbury Crusaders. Captain Juan Smith was forced to quit the tour after the death of his father, missing the games against the Brumbies and Crusaders, but the former Springbok backrower returned Friday to play an inspirational role for his team. Reds beat Stormers Rugby league convert Will Chambers scored a second-half try as the Queensland Reds beat South Africa's Stormers 16-13 in Super 14 rugby in Brisbane. After Quade Cooper gave the Reds the lead in the 43rd minute with a penalty goal, Chambers scored five minutes later and the resurgent Reds relied on tight defense to hold on to the lead and remain in a semifinal position among the top four. The win broke the Reds' three-game losing streak at home against the Stormers and snapped a six-game losing streak overall against the Cape Town
