Hurricanes win after fright from feisty Reds

Ma'a Nonu is tackled by John Roe. Getty Images / Marty Melville

Hurricanes 26 Reds 22

Hurricanes win after fright from feisty Reds

The Hurricanes avoided the fright of their season, fending off a feisty Queensland Reds with a 26-22 victory to all but book their Super 14 rugby semifinal spot here tonight.

In a frantic end-to-end match punctuated by errors, the Hurricanes were outscored three tries to two by the visitors but dominated the final 10 minutes in clinical style to avert any hiccups.

A penalty to replacement Jimmy Gopperth on the final hooter confirmed their ninth win of the season after they led 13-8 at halftime.

A try to former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga in the 57th minute proved decisive after the hosts blew several scoring chances with handling errors or inaccurate kicks.

The Reds, rank outsiders in pre-match odds, gave plenty of cheek in the opening quarter, stealing Hurricanes lineouts and mounting some slick attacks of their own as the match flowed from end to end.

Hurricanes centre Ma'a Nonu looked a huge danger as he broke the line at will but the final passes didn't stick.

After goalkickers Berrick Barnes and David Holwell traded penalties, the match was busted open in the 23rd minute by Hurricanes halfback Piri Weepu whose night had previously looked finished.

The All Blacks No 9 departed in the third minute with blood flowing from his eye after copping an accidental boot while trying to tackle Reds centre Ben Tune.

Freshly stitched, Weepu showed 20/20 vision as he burst upfield from a ruck and offloaded to energetic lock Jason Eaton who galloped 20m and dived to score under the posts.

The Reds, who enjoyed more possession in the first half, struck back through some nice opportunism from league convert Barnes.

Hurricanes wing Lome Fa'atau was clear down the right but his chip kick was charged and regathered by Barnes, who raced 50m and stepped inside fullback Isaia Toeava to score.

The Reds' pivot missed his conversion attempt in the swirling southerly while Holwell landed a late penalty for the halftime lead.

Six minutes after halftime the Reds hit the front after sustained pressure and two powerful 5m scrums saw flanker David Croft driven over near the posts from a good feed from captain John Roe.

But the visitors' lead lasted less than 10 minutes as Holwell kicked his third penalty, then the Hurricanes finally strung some passes together.

Good leadup work from Jerry Collins who showed a range of skills throughout the match, and Chris Masoe saw a jubilant Umaga score out wide.

Gopperth's conversion made it 23-15 with 20 minutes left.

The gutsy Reds weren't done with as they stormed back again, their forward pack took charge and Roe finished a well constructed rolling maul.

Barnes' curling conversion set up a thrilling final 10 minutes at 23-22.

Hurricanes captain Rodney So'oialo said while it wasn't pretty, the team backed themselves to snare the competition points after the early scares.

"We always knew it was going to be a gritty game, especially up front, and the boys needed to work pretty hard today," he told Sky TV.

"We just trusted the work that we did this week. We got behind on points but the boys stuck to it and backed our ability to defend and come back."

The Hurricanes' final round robin match is a big one against competition leaders the Waratahs in Sydney next weekend.

Scores:-
Hurricanes 26 (Jason Eaton, Tana Umaga tries; David Holwell 3 pen, con; Jimmy Gopperth pen, con)
Reds 22 (Berrick Barnes, David Croft, John Roe tries; Barnes pen, 2 con).
HT: 13-8.

- NZPA