The Wellington Hurricanes became the first team to qualify for the Super 14 rugby final when a massive 50m penalty by Jimmy Gopperth secured a tough 16-14 win over the New South Wales Waratahs on Friday.
They must now wait for the outcome of Saturday’s match between defending champions the Canterbury Crusaders and the Northern Bulls to determine who they will play in the final.
The Hurricanes went into the match having never lost a home match to the Waratahs and having never won a Super semifinal in three attempts, knowing one of those records would have to go.
In the end it came down to the powerful boot of replacement flyhalf Gopperth to kick them into the final with a penalty from halfway with 12 minutes remaining.
That there were only two points separating the sides at the end of the combative encounter was testament to the Waratahs defence after the Hurricanes dominated possession.
The visitors only had two positive spells in attack — scoring eight points in a 10-minute burst in the first half and six points in a charge midway through the second half — with Lote Tuqiri always dangerous on the too few occasions he saw the ball.
The Hurricanes’ midfield combination of former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga and Ma’a Nonu again battered the Waratahs’ defence, and number eight Rodney So’oialo and flankers Chris Masoe and Jerry Collins were punishing on defence and attack as they led a superior forward effort.
But after going into the break with a 13-8 lead, then spending the first 20 minutes of the second half on attack for no reward, the Hurricanes’ confidence was tested when the Waratahs came back with two quick Peter Hewat penalties to take a 14-13 lead.
”We just didn’t hold on to the ball very well and that’s what happens when you’re put under that much pressure,” So’oialo said of the lapse.
Waratahs skipper Chris Whitaker acknowledged his side did not have enough ball to win.
”We almost came away with it,” said the veteran Wallaby scrumhalf. ”When we did get the ball we did some good things with it, but their defence was pretty good tonight, the Hurricanes, and they deserve their win.”
Hurricanes scrumhalf and long-range kicker Piri Weepu opened the scoring with a 47m penalty and starting flyhalf David Holwell added another soon after to have the hosts out to an early 6-0 lead.
When the Waratahs finally unleashed a rampaging Tuqiri, they were rewarded with a try when the big number 11 broke through a string of tackles for Hewat to score in the corner.
As the Waratahs remained on attack they took the lead with a Hewat penalty eight minutes later, before the momentum swung back to the Hurricanes.
They gained possession by monstering a Waratahs feed to a scrum and from the ensuing scrum the ball went wide to Umaga, who passed inside to Lome Fa’atau to score his 10th try to become the competition’s leading try scorer.
Holwell nailed the conversion, leaving the Hurricanes 13-8 ahead, with two Hewat penalties and the giant Gopperth goal the only scoring in the second half. — AFP
