The Hurricanes were forced to come from behind to secure a 34-28 Super rugby victory over the Stormers in Wellington.
The Hurricanes victory is their third straight win over the Stormers who have not won in Wellington since 2001 and have lost their last four in the city.
The Hurricanes outscored the Stormers by five tries to three in the match with two of their tries being scored by winger Wes Goosen.
Despite leading for much of the match the Stormers had to settle for a losing bonus point which moves them provisionally to the top of the South African conference.
All Blacks star and Hurricanes captain for the day Beauden Barrett scored what proved to be the match winning try ten minutes from full time. His conversion took his points tally for the match to 16.
The Hurricanes were with a number of their other All Blacks including Dane Coles, TJ Perenara and Ngani Laumape.
The Stormers went out to a 6-0 lead after almost six minutes with two penalties from SP Marais. The Hurricanes hit back with a try from Ben May which with Barrett’s conversion put the home side into the lead.
Lam almost claimed a second a few minutes later but knocked the ball on over the line ruling out the try.
The Hurricanes went further ahead when Jean-Luc du Plessis was sent to the sin-bin and the home side chose a 5 scrum for the penalty.
From that scrum Richard Judd put in a grubber kick which allowed Jordie Barrett to slip through and score the Canes second try. Brother Beauden was unable to add the conversion.
Despite being a player down the Stormers hit back almost immediately by using their driving maul. Captain Siya Kolisi slipped off the side and scored the visitors first try.
Marais added the conversion which put the Stormers into a one point lead heading for the break.
As half time came around there was some confusion as most players thought the whistle had gone for the break but instead a TMO review played out which saw Vaea Fifita yellow carded. The Stormers again went to their maul from a a line out and this time Bongi Mbonambi crossed the line.
Marais added the conversion which gave the Stormers a 15-21 lead at half time.
The Hurricanes were next to score when Chase Tiatia passed to South African born Hurricanes winger Wes Goosen who scored in the corner. Barrett’s conversion put the Hurricanes back into the lead but only by a point.
The Stormers took the lead again when their pack powered replacement Jaco Coetzee over the line. The try needed a TMO review which proved to be a tough decision but went the Stormers way. Marais again added the conversion.
Goosen then scored his second try for the Wellington side after the TMO was called upon again.
The conversion was missed by Beauden Barrett but eight minutes later the Hurricanes captain made up for the miss by scoring the try that sealed the result.
Next week the Hurricanes host the Crusaders in Wellington while the Stormers play the Blues in Auckland.
Final score Hurricanes 34 (15) Stormers 28 (21)
Scorers
Hurricanes
Tries – B.May, J.Barrett, W.Goosen 2, B.Barrett
Pen – B.Barrett
Con – B.Barrett 3
Drop –
Cards – V. Fifita (41st min yellow)
Stormers
Tries – S.Kolisi, B.Mbonambi, J.Coetzee
Pen – SP Marais 3
Con – SP. Marais 2
Drop –
Cards – J-L du Plessis (20th min yellow)
Match Officials
Referee: Glen Jackson
Assistant Ref 1:Nick Briant
Assistant Ref 2:Ben O’Keeffe
TMO : Glenn Newman
Teams
Hurricanes
15 Chase Tiatia ,14 Wes Goosen, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Beauden Barrett (c), 9 Richard Judd, 8 Reed Prinsep, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Liam Mitchell, 4 James Blackwell, 3 Ben May, 2 Ricky Riccitelli, 1 Fraser Armstrong
Replacements: 16 James O’Reilly, 17 Xavier Numia, 18 Jeff To’omaga-Allen, 19 Isaia Walker-Leawere, 20 Sam Henwood, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Fletcher Smith, 23 Danny Toala
Stormers
15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 SP Marais, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Chris van Zyl, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Jaco Coetzee, 21 Justin Phillips, 22 Dan du Plessis, 23 Damian Willemse.
