The top-ranked Wellington Hurricanes needed a 72nd-minute try to lock Jeremy Thrush to clinch a four-try bonus point and a 32-24 win over the 11th-placed Sharks yesterday, keeping the home side atop the Super Rugby table.
The Hurricanes led 14-10 at halftime, but fell behind twice in the second half after tries to Sharks wingers S’Bura Sithole and Odwa Ndungane, before Thrush’s try and another to replacement prop Reggie Goodes sealed their 10th win from 11 games.
James Marshall, who started for the first time this season in the absence of injured flyhalf Beauden Barrett, kicked two late penalties to inflate the Hurricanes’ winning margin and deny the Sharks a losing bonus point.
Photo: AFP
The Sharks scored their first try through hooker Bismarck du Plessis, and the Hurricanes’ Cory Jane and captain Conrad Smith replied in the first half.
“I was impressed with the composure,” Smith said. “We were always calm when we were behind our posts and we knew we’d worked on things right.”
“They were playing well and we knew when we got our chance we had to make the most of it. That’s the way it worked out,” he said.
The small crowd at the match included Britain’s Prince Harry, who is in New Zealand on a short official visit.
At the Perth Oval in Australia, the Western Force snapped a 10-match losing streak, upsetting defending Super Rugby champions the New South Wales Waratahs 18-11.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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