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Hurricanes weather storm Wellington holds off Waratahs to keep title hopes alive
Posted: Saturday April 29, 2000 11:34 AM
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Despite playing one man short for the entire second half after Jonah Lomu was sent off, Wellington held off New South Wales 27-20 Saturday in a critical Super 12 clash. The Hurricanes were twice reduced to 13 men in the second period when referee Andre Watson sin-binned hooker Norm Hewitt and then No. 8 Filo Tiatia late in the match. But the Waratahs, who charged back from 27-3 down to trail by seven points with eight minutes remaining when Matt Burke slotted a penalty goal, failed to capitalize on their numerical advantage. The win moved the Hurricanes from No. 5 to No. 3 in the standings with 28 points, behind the ACT Brumbies on 36 and Canterbury on 33, and virtually ended the Waratahs title aspirations. New South Wales picked up a bonus competition point for losing by seven points or less but the result had them languishing in No. 7 with 21 points and two games to play. The only try of the second half came via Waratahs winger Scott Staniforth, who crashed over next to the posts after a quick tap in the 53rd minute to reduce the margin to 27-17. The Hurricanes were held scoreless in the second period but two tries to scrumhalf Jason Spice and one to winger Brad Fleming in the opening 40 minutes plus David Holwell's two penalties and three conversions was enough to secure the win. Burke scored a try and kicked two penalties and two conversions to finish with a 15-point haul. After opening the scoring with a penalty to give the Waatahs a 3-0 edge, Burke sparked the Waratahs fightback when he crashed over in first-half injury time and converted after Lomu had been red-carded. His score reduced the margin to 27-10 at the break. Lomu, who spent 10 minutes in the sinbin for a dangerous tackle on Nathan Grey early in the game, earned his second yellow card for a professional foul when he deliberately knocked the ball down with the Waratahs on full attack. The giant All Blacks winger was expected to front the Super 12 judicial panel before the Hurricanes head off Sunday for South Africa. Lomu only spent 30 minutes on the field but he demonstrated his immense power with a series of barging runs. He broke three tackles and carried five players toward the line on a 25 meter burst for the line but had a try disallowed when referee Andre Watson called for the video referee. Earlier, David Holwell responded to Burke's opening penalty with two long-range goals to give the Hurricanes a 6-3 on 14 minutes. Fleming grabbed an incept -- Waratah lock Tom Bowman attempting a cut-out pass out wide -- and sprinted 70 meters to score under the posts and Holwell converted as the Hurricanes grabbed a 10-point lead. The Hurricanes had extended the margin o 24 points when Spice crossed for two converted tries while Waratahs lock John Welborne was in the sinbin for stomping on a rival. Scorers: Wellington 27 (Jason Spice 2, Brad Fleming tries; David Holwell 2 penalties, 3 conversions) def. New South Wales 20 (Matthew Burke, Scott Staniforth tries; Burke 2 penalties, 2 conversions)
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