Wellington hang on to beat Canterbury

9.30pm - By CHRIS RATTUE

Wellington hung on for a 34-27 win over Canterbury tonight in what turned into a rousing NPC opener.

Ben Blair missed a late sideline conversion - his only goalkicking failure of the night - which helped the Wellington cause considerably.

Had he landed the kick, Canterbury may well have been in the box seat in the final minutes after dominating the half, but instead were forced to attempt late heroics which didn't come off.

A 74th-minute Scott Hamilton try, after a mountain of Canterbury pressure, had the score at 27-29, but Blair could not land the levelling kick from out wide.

After storming to a 22-9 halftime advantage, Wellington had to hang on for dear life as Canterbury rumbled all over them in the second spell.

Wellington were further handicapped by the sinbinning of lock Ross Filipo, which meant their scrum - already under pressure - became a soft target for Canterbury.

But cling on Wellington did, and they finished the job off with a fulltime try to replacement forward Thomas Waldrom.

The match turned into a rousing opener in a clash of styles, with Canterbury relying on muscle and forcing Wellington to live off scraps.

Wellington had far too much zest for Canterbury in the first half, scoring three tries to none in the spell. Canterbury had plenty of ball, but were in a plodding mood, whereas Wellington threatened whenever they had the ball.

The home side scored the first try of the season just two minutes into the game, with a bit of luck and a clever Ma'a Nonu pass under pressure sending Lome Fa'atau to the line.

Blindside flanker Kristian Ormsby powered away for Wellington's second try, brushing off a half-hearted chasing tackle from fullback Blair.

And naive Canterbury defence gave Fa'atau room on the right wing - from direct lineout ball - and he raced around Caleb Ralph to score the third.

Blair landed three out of three penalty attempts for Canterbury to keep them in range, but they never once threatened the tryline in the half - a telling indication of how they were playing.

Canterbury showed some signs of life late in the spell, but were cut down by the speed of the Wellington defence.

Canterbury struck early in the second half, with a superbly worked try from a lineout - an inside ball setting Caleb Ralph free through the middle, with Casey Laulala finishing off.

But the danger signs for Canterbury were quickly flashing again, when Ma'a Nonu broke past Corey Flynn - moments after the hooker came on as a replacement - and fed Sireli Bobo for Wellington's fourth try, a bonus point, and a 29-16 lead.

Wellington's discipline cracked in the 68th minute when Ross Filipo charged in late and high on Laulala, and was sinbinned by Paul Honiss.

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