The Wellington Hurricanes held off the Otago Highlanders for a 17-11 Super Rugby Aotearoa victory in Wellington yesterday, a result hailed as “massive” by ’Canes captain T.J. Perenara.
The Hurricanes were cruising at 17-0 ahead, commanding more than 66 percent of possession in the second half, before the Highlanders came to life.
The visitors were within striking distance of snatching an unlikely victory as the clock ticked down, but lost their own throw at a lineout to allow the Hurricanes to hang on.
Photo: AFP
The three-tries-to-one win moved the Hurricanes past the Highlanders into third place halfway through the domestic version of the southern hemisphere club championship featuring the five New Zealand teams from the wider five-nation Super Rugby competition that was scrapped in March.
The Canterbury Crusaders are unbeaten in four games, the Auckland Blues are second having only lost to the Crusaders and the Waikato Chiefs are last with no wins.
“That was massive for us,” Perenara said.
The Hurricanes dominated by employing Ardie Savea, Asafo Aumua, Ngani Laumape and Vince Aso as battering rams to tie up the Highlanders’ defense.
Perenara said that there were still problem areas that need to be addressed, not least turning the ball over.
“What we will look at is we are giving away a lot of penalties that are getting teams up to our end of the field, which is hurting us,” he said.
Both sides had tries scrubbed out because of obstruction in the early skimishes.
It took until the 28th minute for Perenara to open the scoring when he neatly sidestepped his fellow All Blacks scrum-half Aaron Smith and strolled 10m to the line.
Jordie Barrett orchestrated the second try with a long pass to Kobus van Wyk to score in the corner.
The Hurricanes turned with a 12-0 lead and were quick to build on it when play resumed. After battering into the Highlanders defensive wall for more than five minutes, they found a crack for flanker Devan Flanders to dive through.
The Highlanders began their comeback with a Mitch Hunt penalty and a try from Aaron Smith, who ducked around the short side of a lineout maul to reduce the deficit to nine points.
A Hunt penalty seconds from the fulltime hooter secured a bonus point for the Highlanders and gave them one last chance to snatch victory, but they turned over the ball soon after the restart.
Meanwhile, former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has urged his former employers to be strong in their negotiations over the future of Super Rugby and that New Zealand Rugby (NZR) owed trans-Tasman neighbors Australia no favors.
Tensions between the organizations ratcheted up this week, with Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan saying he felt the relationship had deteriorated to one of a “master-servant.”
Hansen said that NZR should be doing what was best for their players.
“Without being controversial, we have been looking after the Aussies for years,” Hansen told Stuff Media. “And every time we have required something from them, particularly at a high level, sometimes they have gone missing.”
“Do we owe them something? No, but because we are the nation we are, and we care about the game more than just ourselves, we bend and buckle a bit,” he said. “I think NZ Rugby are in the mood for having strong discussions because they only get one shot at it.”
Much of the disagreement has centered on the composition of Super Rugby from next year, with both countries reportedly keen on exploring a trans-Tasman competition rather than reverting to a tournament that involves teams from South Africa and Argentina.
Additional reporting by Reuters
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in has pleaded with South Korea fans to get behind the team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after more boos were aimed at coach Hong Myung-bo despite leading them to qualification. South Korea reached next year’s finals in North America without losing a game, but that does not tell the whole story. The country’s soccer association has been in the firing line, having scrambled about to find a successor after sacking the unpopular Jurgen Klinsmann in February last year. They eventually settled on Hong, the decorated former skipper who had an unsuccessful stint as coach in 2013-2014, during which
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Ferrari’s F1 fortunes might be flagging, but the Italian team start this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans as favorites, targeting a third consecutive triumph in motorsport’s fabled endurance classic. Roger Federer is acting as celebrity starter with the tennis icon getting the 93rd edition of the jewel in four-wheeled endurance racing’s crown under way tomorrow. Twenty-four hours later, through daylight, darkness and dawn, the 21 elite hypercars are to battle it out over 300 laps (more than 4,000km) in front of a sold-out 320,000 crowd burning the midnight oil with copious quantities of coffee and beer. Ferrari made a triumphant return after
RSS