Blues, Crusaders win, Highlanders lose
- Dave Worsley
- 17 hours ago
- 3 min read
The Blues have held on for an important 19-18 victory over the Hurricanes, just their second win of the season.
Beauden Barrett was the difference contributing 16 points in a tense encounter dominated by defence.
The Hurricanes had a late chance to win the game when they stole a Hurricanes lineout with 90 seconds to go.
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However, Barrett and Mark Tele’a bundled Kini Naholo into touch for the victory.
The Blues were forced to fight hard after captain Patrick Tuipulotu went to the bin for a high shot.
They managed the numbers perfectly, with Barrett adding first points before the Hurricanes’ Peter Lakai was denied a try for obstruction.
Fellow back-rower Braydon Iose couldn’t be denied minutes later as they marched into the lead.
The five-pointer was quickly answered by prop Marcel Renata, diving over from a quick tap play to allow Barrett to level the scores before half-time.
Ngantungane Punivai gave the Hurricanes the lead on the hour mark when the winger waltzed over the line for an 18-16 lead.
Barrett stepped up and nailed the long-range penalty goal that would prove the difference.
The Blues face cross-town rivals Moana Pasifika, next round.
The Hurricanes keep their spot in the top six after their losing bonus point, but face a tough task home to the Crusaders.
Dscipline let the Highlanders down in their clash with the Force in Perth which ended in a 29-20 defeat.
The Highlanders were ahead 20-7 near the end of the first half , but the home side then scored the next 22 points to seal the five-tries-to-two win.
A big turning point came in the 45th minute when Force winger Harry Potter busted over for a try with the home side trailing 20-19.
As Potter went over, Highlanders No.8 Sean Withy slid in knees first and collected the Force winger in the head.
Potter went off for a HIA assessment, while Withy was given a yellow card, which was soon upgraded to a red.
It meant the Highlanders were reduced to 14 men for the next 20 minutes and the Force extended their lead to 29-20 when substitute George Poolman went over following a slicing run from Max Burey.
Force centre Sio Tomkinson was yellow carded three minutes later after tipping his opponent off the ball, but the Highlanders briefly went down to 13 men when Jona Nareki was sent off for his team's repeated penalties.
Meanwhile the Crusaders bounced back in convincing style, overpowering Fijian Drua 31-14 for their first-ever Super Rugby win at Suva's ANZ Stadium.
Halfback Noah Hotham had the visitors on top quickly, scoring in the corner in the third minute, with lock Antonio Shalfoon and winger Chay Fihaki following suit for a 17-0 halftime advantage.
Both teams made a number of handling errors in the hot and humid conditions, but the Crusaders put the game beyond reach, when wing Macca Springer and hooker Ioane Moananu added two more tries in the second half.
Down 31-0, the Drua had back-to-back tries by Isikeli Rabitu and Etonia Waqa from deep inside their own half but weren't able to sustain their effort.
Western Force 29 ( Carlo Tizzano, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Mac Grealy, Harry Potter, George Poolman tries; Ben Donaldson 2 con) Highlanders 20 (Jona Nareki, Sam Gilbert tries; Gilbert 2 con, 2 pen). HT: 19-20.
Blues 19 (Marcel Renata try; Beauden Barrett 1 con 4 pen) Hurricanes 18 (Ngatungane Punivai, Braydon Iose; Cons: Rile Hohepa 1 con 2 pen)
Crusaders 31 (Noah Hotham, Antonio Shalfoon, Chay Fihaki, Macca Springer, Ioane Moananu; Taha Kemara 2 con, James O'Connor con) Fijian Drua 14 ( Isikeli Rabitu, Etonia Waqa tries; Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula 2 con). HT: 17-0