Rugby: Win puts Wellington back on track

Wellington first five-eighth Daniel Kirkpatrick.

Clever kicking by Daniel Kirkpatrick helped guide Wellington to a 32-13 Air NZ Cup rugby win over Southland in Wellington last night.

The win came at a cost for the men from the capital, though. Locks Mark Reddish and Nick Passi suffered a broken fibula and concussion respectively, while All Blacks back Cory Jane has popped a rib cartilage.

Young first five-eighth Kirkpatrick grew in stature as the match progressed and two deft touches from him led to important second-half tries for his team on a cold and wet evening in the capital.

Astute kicking became increasingly important in the difficult, slippery conditions and Kirkpatrick was up to the task as Wellington ignored the form book to inflict just Southland's second loss of the season.

His nicely weighted chip inside the Southland 22 was pounced on by replacement back Fa'atonu Fili in the 53rd minute and just nine minutes later Kirkpatrick set up another try, this time to Apoua Stewart.

Kirkpatrick kicked high to the right-hand touch where Stewart hauled in the ball before stepping past a diving Robbie Robinson to score and give the home side a decisive 25-13 lead.

Between these two touchdowns Southland had one of their own when lock Joe Tuineau found himself in the right place at the right time after a half break from first five-eighth Robinson.

Robinson snuck through a gap only to see his offload deflect off a Wellington defender. But Tuineau got his boot to the loose ball first, then followed up to score.

Southland were given a hand late in the piece when Wellington prop Anthony Perenise was sinbinned by English referee Wayne Barnes for a deliberate foot trip, leaving the home side a man down for the last seven minutes.

But they were unable to make their numerical advantage count and instead conceded a bonus-point try when Wellington wing David Smith snaffled an intercept shortly before the finish.

It was an invaluable win for Wellington, who had threatened to drop off the competition pace after losing three of their previous four matches.

A canny try to Wellington lock Daniel Ramsay proved the difference between the teams at halftime when the home side led 13-3.

The one-time Southlander turned the tables on his former teammates in just the fourth minute by taking full advantage of a loose ball after Robinson juggled then dropped an awkward pass outside his 22.

Ramsay was quickly on the spot to toe the ball ahead and then received a fortuitous bounce to enable him to dot down.

Southland looked the better team for long stretches of the first spell, pinching a number of turnovers at the breakdown where they out-hustled the home side.

But their discipline let them down at times, too, enabling Kirkpatrick to kick two penalties against Robinson's one during the spell.

- NZPA