Canes scramble late win over Highlanders

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Somehow, some way the Hurricanes gathered themselves enough to score two tries in the last 10 minutes and steal an unlikely 22-17 Super 14 win over the luckless Highlanders at the Cake Tin on Friday night.

With just 10 minutes remaining the Highlanders looked as though they were heading for a deserved away victory, leading 17-10 and the Canes not showing much in the way of the skill or concentration required to master the slippery conditions.

But then a familiar script kicked in. It saw the Highlanders, who gave plenty in another gallant losing performance, pipped at the end as their opponents came up with the big plays when they had to.

Jason Eaton powered over for the first score, following 16 phases of concentrated Canes attack, to level the scores at 17-17 with a half-dozen minutes remaining.

Then, from the kickoff, the Hurricanes struck again when, first, Scott Waldrom did well to gather difficult ball at his ankles, then Piri Weepu was able to punish the Highlanders for spilled ball when he put in a grubber kick, chased well to regather when Ben Smith couldn't control the ball on the deck, and put Conrad Smith away for the match-winner.

There was no doubting the Highlanders probably deserved more, particularly for the way they battled back from an 0-10 deficit early in the second spell to cross twice and take that 17-10 lead.

But, once again, they were probably their own worst enemies. For all their gritty defence, plucky attack and never-say-die attitude, they still haven't learned how to close out a game when they have the lead.

For that they again pay dearly, even if they did take a third bonus point for the season out of this match following last season's heartbreaker at home against the Brumbies.

Credit to the Canes who were inspired by an outstanding display by Ma'a Nonu off the bench. The All Blacks No 12 was brilliant when he was injected after halftime, full of power running and workrate, and he showed that the kick in the butt he received from coach Colin Cooper had done the trick. He won't be riding the pine next week.

There was also an influential display from Piri Weepu, first at halfback, then later in the match at first five where he conspired to create the opportunities for his side to steal the victory.

The Canes had been extremely fortunate to finish a pretty bland first 40 minutes with a 3-0 lead. Not that either side really deserved much in the way of scoreboard reward for a half where both struggled to deal with the wet conditions.

The Highlanders definitely created the more clear-cut opportunities, two or three times unlucky not to get more for a fairly prolonged spell of pressure around the half-hour mark where the Canes were very much in batten-down-the-hatches mode.

But then when Highlanders flanker Adam Thomson was binned shortly before halftime, the Hurricanes were able to slot the resultant penalty and take the slender lead into the sheds at halftime.

The Hurricanes punished their visitors even further shortly after the resumption when wing David Smith was the finisher, but Nonu very much the architect, as the home side struck after just two minutes to make it 10-0.

Thomson then returned, having seen his side cough up 10 points in his absence, and set about helping his men come back. And so they did.

Daniel Bowden was awarded a fortunate try from the TMO a dozen minutes in when he toed the ball through three times, won the chase and was given the benefit of the doubt in an extremely dodgy grounding decision.

That got the Highlanders back to within three, which became a four-point lead soon after when No 8 Steven Setephano punished the Hurricanes for a defensive error fielding a kick.  When Weepu and skipper Tamati Ellison failed to communicate, bouncing ball found Bowden who fed Setephano for the score.

Bowden added a penalty to give the Highlanders what appeared, in the conditions, to be a decisive seven-point lead heading into the final 10 minutes.

That was when the Highlanders went into retreat, the Canes on to the attack and the match was decided by those twin strikes to the home side.

It was a crucial win for the Canes, who made plenty of errors, but did steel themselves in time for the charge when it was needed. A second straight home match without a win would have been unthinkable.

But spare a thought for Glenn Moore's Highlanders. Having lost arguably their three best players to injury and suspension beforehand, they showed that they're a side with plenty of backbone, if not the nerve to finish the job.

Hurricanes 22: David Smith, Jason Eaton, Conrad Smith tries; Daniel Kirkpatrick pen, con; Piri Weepu con.

Highlanders 17: Daniel Bowden, Steven Setephano tries; Bowden pen, 2 cons. Ht: 3-0. 

- © Fairfax NZ News