The Auckland Blues kept their faint Super 14 semifinal hopes alive with a pulsating 19-17 win over the Wellington Hurricanes in Auckland on Friday. Trailing 16-17 at half-time, the Blues scored the only points of the second period when fullback Nick Evans kicked his fourth penalty to give his side what turned out to be a match-winning lead.
The New South Wales Waratahs face the toughest task of the nine teams remaining in semifinal contention when the penultimate round of rugby’s Super 14 begins on Friday. The second-placed Waratahs face the fourth-placed Stormers in Cape Town in a match that bears heavily on their semifinal chances.
The Hurricanes continued their strong finish to the Super 14 season when they thrashed the Johannesburg-based Lions 38-12 in Wellington on Saturday. Leading 26-7 at halftime, the Hurricanes scored five tries to their opponents two to overwhelm the disappointing Lions.