Chiefs v Hurricanes (Getty Images)
Jordie Barrett’s late penalty set up a dramatic 27-24 Super Rugby victory for the Hurricanes over the Chiefs in Hamilton on Friday.
As it happened | Chiefs v Hurricanes
The New Zealand rivals scored three tries apiece but Barrett’s kick in the 84th minute proved decisive, stunning former Wales coach Warren Gatland’s Chiefs.
It came after a marathon 36-phase effort from the Hurricanes in the game’s final moments when the scores were locked 24-24.
“We’re pretty disappointed, we thought we did enough to win,” Chiefs skipper Sam Cane said.
Hurricanes captain Dane Coles said the Wellington team had been chasing a victory in Hamilton for a long time.
“We’ve been coming here since 2009 and it’s my first win against the Chiefs here, which makes me bloody happy,” he said.
The Hurricanes made the early running and were rewarded in the ninth minute when Ben Lam crossed after a free-flowing backline move in which the ball passed through five pairs of hands.
Flanker Lachlan Boshier muscled his way over the line for the Chiefs but Hurricanes fly-half Fletcher Smith found a defensive gap to put the visitors ahead 10-14 at half-time.
Both sides came close after the restart but it was Chiefs centre Tumua Manu who broke through before Hurricanes halfback TJ Perenara was sin-binned for a high tackle.
Shaun Stevenson added another for the hosts, lifting their lead to 24-14.
A penalty and an Asafo Aumua try from a lineout drive levelled the scores at 24-24, setting up the blockbuster finale which Barrett decided with his late kick.
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Scorers:
Chiefs
Tries: Lachlan Boshier, Tumua Manu, Shaun Stevenson
Conversions: Damian McKenzie (3)
Penalty: McKenzie
Hurricanes
Tries: Ben Lam, Fletcher Smith, Asafo Aumua
Conversion: Jordie Barrett (3)
Penalties: Barrett (2)
Teams:
Chiefs
15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Shaun Stevenson, 13 Tumua Manu, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 Solomon Alaimalo, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Brad Weber, 8 Pita Gus Sowakula, 7 Sam Cane (captain), 6 Lachlan Boshier, 5 Mitchell Brown, 4 Michael Allardice, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 1 Aidan Ross
Substitutes: 16 Bradley Slater, 17 Atu Moli, 18 Reuben O’Neill, 19 Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 20 Mitchell Karpik, 21 Lisati Milo-Harris, 22 Kaleb Trask, 23 Alex Nankivell
Hurricanes
15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Vince Aso, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Fletcher Smith, 9 TJ Perenara (co-captain), 8 Gareth Evans, 7 Du’Plessis Kirifi, 6 Devan Flanders, 5 Isaia Walker-Leawere, 4 James Blackwell, 3 Ben May, 2 Dane Coles (co-captain), 1 Fraser Armstrong
Substitutes: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Pouri Rakete-Stones, 18 Alex Fidow, 19 Scott Scrafton, 20 Vaea Fifita, 21 Jamie Booth, 22 Billy Proctor, 23 Wes Goosen
