The Wellington Hurricanes upset Super 15 leaders the Waikato Chiefs 28-25 with a dramatic late try to keep their slim hopes of a top six play-off berth on life support.
Hooker Dane Coles’ try four minutes after the full-time siren also dented the Chiefs’ chances of ending the regular season in top spot and guaranteeing themselves home advantage through the finals series.
While the Chiefs are already guaranteed a finals spot after winning the New Zealand Conference, South Africa’s Western Stormers can now overtake them with a win over the Western Force in this weekend’s final round of regular matches.
After a frantic first half, which included two tries to winger Julian Savea, the Hurricanes looked to have faded against their New Zealand rivals before launching a last-ditch attack after being awarded a penalty.
Desperately keeping possession after the siren sounded, they laid siege to the Chiefs’ line, Coles forcing his way across a jumble of bodies for a try that the television referee ruled legitimate after an agonising delay.
Wild celebrations
While the win sparked wild celebrations among the Hurricanes players, there are six teams vying for four play-off spots in this weekend’s round and they still need results elsewhere to go their way to make the cut.
Captain Conrad Smith said the Hurricanes, written off at the start of the season after a clear-out of high-profile players such as Ma’a Nonu and Piri Weepu, had proved a point regardless.
“We threw everything at each other and we somehow crawled over the line to take it,” he said. “I’m proud of the way we played whether we make the play-offs or not, it’s been a heck of a year considering where we’ve come from.”
The Chiefs made a perfect start with a try after three minutes, Tawera Kerr-Barlow slipping through the defence to score between the posts, with the Hurricanes complaining the referee accidentally obstructed a tackler.
Whistleblower Jonathan Kaplan waved away the protest and Aaron Cruden made an easy conversion to make it 7-0. The Hurricanes almost hit back two minutes later after a line break from Jack Lam but had to settle for a Beauden Barrett penalty as the Chiefs’ defence held firm.
Maintained pressure
Smith soon found a way through for the home side, leaving the Chiefs standing with a dummy pass in the centre of the park then offloading for the Hurricanes to work the ball over to Savea for the winger’s first try.
They maintained the pressure and were rewarded with Savea’s second in the 23rd minute, the big winger bulldozing his way over the line and Barrett converting to make it 15-7. With momentum going their way, the Hurricanes then suffered a setback when prop Ben May was sinbinned for a dangerous tackle on Sonny Bill Williams 10 minutes from half time.
The Chiefs took full advantage, as Cruden narrowed the gap with a penalty before Ben Tameifuna levelled the scores at 15-15, driving the ball over after a lineout from five metres out.
Barrett gave the Hurricanes a slight edge going into the break, kicking a penalty after the siren to make it 18-15. The scored remained unchanged until the 57th minute, when Cruden intercepted a pass from Savea and ran away uncontested to put the Chiefs ahead with a try that he duly converted.
The teams exchanged penalties and appeared to have run each other to a standstill, until Coles’ heroics produced a result that could have a significant impact on how the finals shape up.
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