Post to the rescue as Force draw with Hurricanes
Justin Chadwick |
The Western Force have escaped with a 17-17 golden-point draw against the Hurricanes – and they had the post to thank for it.
In a pulsating finish to Saturday night’s Super Rugby Pacific match in Perth, Force flyhalf Ben Donaldson nailed a 39m penalty in the 78th minute to level the scores and send it into a super-point period.
Whichever team scored first in the 10 minutes of extra time would win the game, and Donaldson’s 51m penalty attempt in the third minute drifted out to the left.
Donaldson had another crack a few minutes later, but his drop-goal attempt from 30m was charged down.
But the most dramatic moment was saved for after the final siren, when Hurricanes flyhalf Ruben Love unleashed a drop-goal attempt from 25m out.
He struck it sweetly, but the ball hit the left post and bounced away, meaning both teams had to settle for a share of the spoils.
The Force would have gone up to fourth with a win, but the draw at least lifted them from sixth to fifth.
And in an extra consolation for the Force, losses for the Blues, Waratahs, Moana and Highlanders over the weekend marked good news for their quest for a maiden finals berth.
Force captain Jeremy Williams revealed after Saturday’s match that he didn’t realise the competition’s super point stopped after just one period.
“I actually had no idea. I thought it was two halves,” Williams said.
“I’d never really been in an extra-time match before.
“I didn’t really know the rules around it or how the kick-off kind of thing works.
“They said first try-scorer gets to do it (choose to kick off or receive).
“But I thought the team as a whole for the start of that extra time, we played in the right ends of the field.
“We were really calm to get in those positions to be able to execute. It was great learnings for us moving forward.”
The Hurricanes opened the scoring in the 11th minute when winger Fehi Fineanganofo avoided Harry Potter’s ankle tap and busted through Donaldson’s tackle to touch down in the corner.
The visitors’ joy was short-lived, with comeback kid Bayley Kuenzle marking his first match of the season with a try four minutes later.
Kuenzle, who was cut down by a serious knee injury last July, was mobbed by his Force teammates after scoring the try.
Wallabies flanker Carlo Tizzano was causing all sorts of problems for the Hurricanes at the breakdown, and his sizzling run in the 36th minute gave the Force excellent field position.
The home side capitalised, tiring the Hurricanes out with phase after phase close to the line, before Nic White fired out a double cut-out pass for fullback Mac Grealy to touch down in the corner.
The 14-5 halftime lead was a handy one, but the Force’s sloppy start to the second half cost them dearly.
Callum Harkin sliced through two Force defenders to score in the 48th minute, and Fineanganofo scored his second try in the 63rd minute when he bounced off tacklers White and Grealy before racing to the line, giving the Hurricanes a 17-14 lead.
Both sides had a chance to win it, but the draw marked a fair result in what was an even contest.
AAP
