Blues 19 Hurricanes 17
THE Waratahs' hopes of staging a Super 14 home semi-final improved dramatically last night after the Blues overhauled the Hurricanes in a spectacular match in Auckland.
All the Waratahs have to do to secure a Sydney Football Stadium semi-final next Saturday night is beat the Reds in their final-round match tonight. This will earn them a second-place finish, behind the Crusaders.
If NSW are defeated, however, they could still miss out on the semi-final berth as the Blues, through their win, are now in contention for a finals spot. The Sharks and Stormers, who both play tonight, can also pass the Waratahs if they falter against Queensland at Suncorp Stadium.
A Hurricanes victory at Eden Park last night would have ended any hopes the Waratahs had of finishing second. And in the final minutes of this engrossing match, a Wellington semi-final appeared a distinct possibility, as three field-goal attempts by the visitors - any one of which would have given them a 20-19 victory - just went wide of the mark.
The Blues somehow held on to enjoy their best victory of the season in a game which resembled a Super 14 final.
The standard of play was first-rate and the tension was continuous. The Blues had two tries disallowed, while another was held up. Both teams had players sent to the sin-bin - in one instance involving the wrong man and the other revolving around a highly dubious decision.
There were intercepts, endless counter-attacks, charges that swept the full length of the field and moments of individual excellence that will mark this game as among the most memorable of this year's Super 14.
It almost appeared that Hurricanes winger Hosea Gear would win the game by himself when, in the space of four first-half minutes, he scored two tries to give the visitors a 14-3 lead.
He first wove his way around six Blues players to score, before charging down Nick Evans's clearing kick and touching down in the 20th minute enabled the Hurricanes to savour a large points advantage. However, the Blues dominated possession and territory for the next hour, took the lead in the 60th minute and stoically held onto it.
BLUES 19 (Anthony Boric try; Nick Evans 4 pen, con) bt HURRICANES 17 (Hosea Gear 2 tries; Piri Weepu pen, 2 con) at Eden Park in Auckland.
Referee: Bruce Lawrence (NZL)
