Brothers Beauden and Jordie Barrett were among the points as defending champions the Wellington Hurricanes wore down the Queensland Reds’ resistance to win 34-15 in Brisbane yesterday.
The Hurricanes claimed a breathless five-tries-to-two victory over the Reds, who slumped to their fifth straight loss this season.
Fullback Jordie scored 14 points from a try, three conversions and a penalty goal, while All Blacks brother Beauden scored a try in the final minute.
Photo: EPA
Wellington led 14-0 after 19 minutes, but the Reds clawed back to trail 14-12 at halftime after tries from winger Chris Kuridrani and No. 8 Scott Higginbotham.
The Hurricanes dominated territory and possession in the second half and had three tries disallowed by the television match official before the Barrett brothers scored tries in the final stages to wrap up victory.
Wellington have won 13 of their past 15 games against the Reds and it was their sixth win in Brisbane.
“It’s always tough coming here and the Reds have pushed most teams this season,” said Wellington skipper T.J. Perenara, who scored an 80m intercept try in the first half. “We knew we were going to have our hands full.”
“We started well and the Reds put us under the pump for a big period and we have to be more clinical in what we’re doing and execute a bit better,” he said.
The Hurricanes took an early grip with tries by Julian Savea and Perenara. The margin looked like it was extended to 19-0 in the 24th minute when Beauden kicked a dropped Reds ball and won the race to it.
However, not only was the try disallowed on video review, referee Angus Gardner sent inside center Ngani Laumape to the sin bin for a charge on Jake McIntyre.
With the Hurricanes down a man, Higginbotham set up Kuridrani with an offload and then backed it up by scoring five minutes before halftime.
The Hurricanes hit back through Vince Aso to give themselves more breathing space at 19-12, but struggled to put away the Reds.
The Hurricanes victory continued the New Zealand dominance of non-Kiwi sides in Super Rugby this year, with their 100 percent record intact after six rounds.
Across the Tasman Sea in Hamilton earlier, a piece of individual brilliance by Shaun Stevenson sparked a Waikato Chiefs revival to maintain their unbeaten record with a 28-12 victory over the Northern Bulls.
With 30 minutes to play, Stevenson received the ball near the 10m mark, stepped around his opposite Jamba Ulengo, kicked ahead and won the race for the ball to score in the corner. It started a three-try, 25-point spree that earned the Chiefs a bonus point to give them 24 competition points
In Auckland, the Blues scored two breakout tries in the second half to secure an unconvincing 24-15 win over the Western Force.
Additional reporting by AP
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