Chiefs hold off late Hurricanes fightback

Chiefs edge Hurricanes 29-30, despite a late Canes fightback, in Round Seven of Super Rugby Pacific at Sky Stadium, Wellington.

The Chiefs held off a late Hurricanes fightback after overcoming a slender halftime deficit in the country’s capital.

Jason Holland’s side scored 14 points in six fourth-quarter minutes as the home team searched for an unlikely come-from-behind victory.

But Clayton McMillan’s charges held strong thanks to 20 points in 23 minutes on either side of halftime.

The two teams shared seven tries in an entertaining Sunday afternoon New Zealand derby as the Chiefs edged the Hurricanes in the Land of the Long White Cloud.

TJ Perenara and Wes Goosen scored first-half tries, while the Savea brothers, Julian and Ardie, dotted down for the Hurricanes after the break.

Jordie Barrett added a penalty and three conversions from the tee for nine points.

Barrett, however, missed a penalty and conversion, which ultimately proved costly in a tight contest.

Anton Lienert-Brown, Kaylum Boshier, and Chase Tiatia crossed the whitewash for the Hamilton franchise.

Josh Ioane kicked three penalties and two conversions for 13 points in an assured display at first receiver.

Bryn Gatland added a conversion after Ioane left the field late in the second stanza.

The Chiefs have now won three in a row versus the Hurricanes for the first time in Super Rugby history.

The Hurricanes took a two-tries-to-one 15-13 halftime lead over the Chiefs at the Cake Tin

The two teams shared three tries in a frenetic opening nine minutes that saw the hosts take a 12-7 lead.

Perenara and Goosen crossed for the Hurricanes on either side of Lienert-Brown’s fifth-minute try.

Two minutes into the game, Perenara intercepted Ioane’s loose pass and raced half the length of the field for the opening score.

Ioane made up for his earlier error when he combined with Sam Cane, who broke free before playing in Lienert-Brown to put the visitors on the board.

Both kickers added the extras before Goosen scored his 27 Super Rugby try from the attacking set-piece.

Ioane and Barrett traded penalties, although the Canes’ playmaker did miss a crucial shot at goal when his 22nd-minute attempt rebounded off the lefthand post.

The Chiefs scored 20 unanswered points either side of the interval before the Savea brothers delivered two late converted, but ultimately futile tries to earn a losing bonus-point

Ioane put the Chiefs ahead with an early second-half penalty.

McMillan’s men extended soon afterwards when Pita Gus Sowakula combined with Quinn Tupaea, down the touchline, to send Boshier away for the visitor’s second score.

The 26-year-old first five-eighth converted to make it 23-15 early in the third quarter. The mistakes started to mount, but the Chiefs struck again, on 62 minutes.

Tiatia, involved three times in the 11-phase attack, sold a dummy, and cut inside a defender to score under the posts.

Gatland, on for Ioane, added the extras from in front to make it a three-score game.

The Hurricanes finally found their groove. After a series of decent attacks, the Savea brothers both scored within six minutes of each other to turn the game on its head.

On 68 minutes, ‘The Bus’ dived over in the corner after some slick handling by the Hurricanes’ backs off an attacking scrum.

With less than eight to play, Ardie Savea took a quick-tap penalty and scored from close range.

Barrett slotted both conversions to make it a one-point game to set up a frantic finale.

However, Gatland’s 50/22, with less than a minute remaining, allowed the Waikato men to see out a deserved away win.

Final Score: Hurricanes 29 (15) Chiefs 30 (13)

Scorers

Hurricanes
Tries – Perenara, Goosen, J. Savea, A Savea
Pen – J. Barrett
Con – J. Barrett (3)
Drop –
Cards –

Chiefs
Tries – A. Lienert-Brown, K. Boshier, Tiatia
Pen – J. Ioane (3)
Con – J. Ioane (2), Gatland
Drop –
Cards –

Match Officials
Referee: Brendon Pickerill
Assistant Ref 1: Paul Williams
Assistant Ref 2: Angus Mabey
TMO: Glenn Newman

Teams

Hurricanes: 15 Ruben Love, 14 Julian Savea, 13 Billy Proctor, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Wes Goosen, 10 Jackson Garden-Bachop, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Ardie Savea (captain), 7 Du’Plessis Kirifi, 6 Reed Prinsep, 5 Scott Scrafton, 4 James Blackwell, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Asafo Aumua, 1 Pouri Rakete-Stones.

Replacements: 16 James O’Reilly, 17 Xavier Numia, 18 Tevita Mafileo, 19 Caleb Delany, 20 Devan Flanders, 21 Jamie Booth, 22 Bailyn Sullivan, 23 Josh Moorby.

Chiefs: 15 Emoni Narawa, 14 Alex Nankivell, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Quinn Tupaea, 11 Etene Nanai-Seturo, 10 Josh Ioane, 9 Brad Weber (captain), 8 Pita Gus Sowakula, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Kaylum Boshier, 5 Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 4 Laghlan McWhan, 3 Angus Ta’avao, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 1 Aidan Ross.

Replacements: 16 Tyrone Thompson, 17 Atu Moli, 18 Sione Mafileo, 19 Josh Lord, 20 Luke Jacobson, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Bryn Gatland, 23 Chase Tiatia.