Wellington Hurricanes flyhalf Aaron Cruden ensured his side’s slim playoff hopes remained alive with a 33-31 victory over the Otago Highlanders in Dunedin, New Zealand, yesterday.
Cruden scored a try and slotted three conversions, while he had a hand in three more of the visitors’ five tries — four of which were scored in the first half.
Like other matches in New Zealand and Australia this weekend, today’s 95th anniversary of the World War I landings of ANZAC troops at Gallipoli was commemorated, with both sides standing silently while the Ode of Remembrance was read and the Last Post played before kickoff.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Both teams were prepared to attack at every opportunity with Cruden, widely seen as the successor for Daniel Carter’s role as the All Blacks’ backline general, in commanding form.
Cruden tested the Highlanders’ defensive line at every opportunity, with two of his first-half surges leading to tries for openside flanker Karl Lowe and lock Michael Paterson.
Scrumhalf Tyson Keats also scored a try, before Cruden sauntered over for his team’s bonus point inside the first half after fullback Cory Jane, who was launching counterattack after counterattack from deep in his own territory, set him up.
The Highlanders, however, were also in an attacking mood, with captain Jimmy Cowan, flanker Alando Soakai and winger Ben Smith all scoring after sweeping movements to ensure the Hurricanes never got more than nine points ahead.
The home side, playing their last game of the season at Carisbrook, reduced the margin to 26-24 when tank-like Highlanders hooker Jason Rutledge barreled over from in close just before halftime.
Cruden’s goalkicking radar, which had provided three conversions in the swirling first-half wind, went astray in the second spell and he missed two eminently kickable penalties.
The match then deteriorated with handling errors ending any flow or momentum, before Cruden challenged the Highlanders line from an attacking scrum with 10 minutes remaining and his short pass put a rampaging Ma’a Nonu through under the posts.
The Highlanders hammered away at the Hurricanes for the final five minutes, but the visitors’ defensive wall held until replacement Otago prop Bronson Murray flopped over under the posts almost two minutes after the hooter sounded.
■WARATAHS 19, BRUMBIES 12
REUTERS, SYDNEY
New South Wales Waratahs winger Lachlan Turner took a cross-kick on his finger tips, then tiptoed for 20m just centimeters from the sideline, to help his side to victory over the ACT Brumbies yesterday.
Turner’s try, from a pinpoint Berrick Barnes kick, put the Waratah’s 10 points in front, a lead they never relinquished.
Waratahs flyhalf Daniel Halangahu slotted three penalties to give the home side a 9-0 first-half lead, before the Brumbies responded with three successive penalties by Wallabies flyhalf Matt Giteau.
Giteau’s third penalty, after the halftime hooter sounded, locked the score at 9-9 at the break.
Halangahu slotted his fourth penalty to give the home side a 12-9 lead, before Turner produced his touchline magic to gather in Barnes’ cross-kick and score under the posts.
Halangahu converted to give the Waratahs a 19-9 lead, and while Giteau slotted his fourth penalty with 20 minutes remaining, neither side troubled the scoreboard again.
“It was a real grind. Just a really disappointing game,” Brumbies captain Stephen Hoiles said.
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