The Wellington Hurricanes, even reduced to 14 in the second period, snatched a first victory in New Zealand Super Rugby on the lawn of the Chiefs (25-18), who still did not win a match, Sunday in Hamilton. The “Canes” came out of it thanks to three tries, including two registered by the South African winger Kobus van Wyk, and the contribution to the foot of All Black Jordie Barrett, back from injury. The 23-year-old New Zealand rear, brother of Beauden and Scott Barrett, distinguished himself by converting two penalties, one of which was almost 60 meters long. This missile brought the team’s lead to 17 points (20-3) when they returned from the locker room.
The gap in favor of the Wellington team increased to 19 units (25-6) thanks to the second try from van Wyk. But the situation started to get worse for the Hurricanes. They first conceded a penalty try (13-25) and then had to contend with the expulsion of the second line Scott Scrafton, who received a second yellow card twenty minutes from the end of the game. The Chiefs led by Warren Gatland, former Wales coach, pushed and even managed to register a try, thanks to Lachlan Boshier (18-25), but the Hurricanes’ defense held out until the end to preserve his victory.
The poster for day five of Super Rugby Aotearoa, a version of Super Rugby limited to New Zealand due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will pit the two unbeaten teams, the Crusaders and the Blues, over the weekend.
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