Super Rugby- May 06, Hurricanes 11 - 17 Blues

May 06, 2011

The Blues withstood a desperate late assault from the Hurricanes to claim a 17-11 victory over the Hurricanes in their clash in Wellington. Deep into injury time, Hurricanes replacement scrum-half Tyson Keats had the chance to atone for a moment of ill discipline which appeared to have cost his side the match, but his lunge for the line was met with strong defence to force him to spill the ball.

Had Keats scored he would have given Hurricanes fly-half Aaron Cruden the chance to win a match with his boot for the second time in a week, but Blues substitute Chris Smylie did enough to force the ball free and deny him and cement his side's place at the top of the New Zealand Conference. Keats had earlier spent 10 minutes off the field after his dangerous tackle on Blues scrum-half Alby Mathewson left referee Jonathan Kaplan no option but to produce the yellow card. What made it more unpalatable for the home side was that it came after they had edged into an 11-9 lead thanks to a try from Rico Gear and conversion from Cruden.

Blues kicker Lachie Munro, who finished with 12 points, landed the ensuing penalty and then Mathewson made the Hurricanes pay by darting over after a lineout drive with 14 minutes left. But the Blues were never able to put away the Hurricanes away and the final five minutes were spent camped deep in their own territory defending their line.

Final Score Hurricanes 11 Blues 17

Scorers

Hurricanes Tries - H Gear
Pen - A Cruden, 2
Con -
Drop -
Cards - T Keats (61st min) yellow

BluesTries - A Mathewson
Pen - L Munro 4
Con -
Drop -
Cards -

Match Officials Referees: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Keith Brown (New Zealand), Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
Television match official: James McPhail (New Zealand)

Teams

Hurricanes:1. John Schwalger ,2. Andrew Hore (c) ,3. Neemia Tialata ,4. Jason Eaton ,5. James Broadhurst ,6. Faifili Levave ,7. Jack Lam ,8. Victor Vito ,9. Chris Eaton ,10. Aaron Cruden ,11. Hosea Gear ,12. Daniel Kirkparick ,13. Jayden Hayward ,14. Alapati Leiua,15. Andre Taylor

Reserves :16. Dane Coles ,17. Anthony Perenise,18. Jeremy Thrush ,19. Mark Reddish ,20. Tyson Keats,21. Julian Savea ,22. Beauden Barrett

Blues :Jared Payne, Joe Rokocoko, Rene Ranger, Benson Stanley, Lachie Munro, Stephen Brett, Alby Mathewson, Peter Saiili, Luke Braid, Jerome Kaino, Ali Williams, Chris Lowrey, John Afoa, Keven Mealumu (captain), Tevita Mailau.

Reserves: Tom McCartney, Pauliasi Manu, James King, Sean Tolwart, Chris Smylie, Aaron Bancroft, Sherwin Stowers.