Hurricanes steal win

The Hurricanes celebrate a try

A last-gasp try to veteran Paul Tito has guided the Hurricanes to an enthralling 39-32 Investec Super 14 victory over the Chiefs before an electric crowd at Hamilton's Waikato Stadium.

In an exciting but error-ridden first half, it was the Hurricanes who made better use of their limited possession and territory.

And despite the Chiefs' numerous attacking attempts, three tries to the visitors compared with two for the hosts proved the difference as the Hurricanes took a 19-15 lead into the break.

Picking up where they left off, the visitors began to dominate proceedings but the Chiefs managed to remain well in the contest as the lead see-sawed.

But with less than a minute left on the clock and the score level, Tito put the result beyond doubt, much to the dismay of the crowd, with a barnstorming try out wide.

The bonus-point win puts the Hurricanes' title aspirations back on track, while the Chiefs have now lost two from two.

Four minutes into the contest and on the back of some clinical forward work, young halfback Alby Mathewson got the Hurricanes off to a flying start with a sizzling try after running 30 metres to score out wide.

To make matters worse for the hosts, skipper Jono Gibbes, in the same phase, appeared to suffer a serious calf injury and he was instantly pulled from the ground by Chiefs coach Ian Foster.

The Chiefs squandered three promising attacks before finally, in their fourth attempt, they managed to get onto the scoreboard through an inspirational try to starting halfback Brendon Leonard.

Then, in the 23rd minute and only moments after conceding a penalty deep inside his own half, Hurricanes No 8 Thomas Waldrom went from villain to golden boy for the visitors when he engineered his side's second try.

After throwing a wild dummy pass around 50m out from the Chiefs goal-line, Waldrom galloped down the field and, along with Jimmy Gopperth, drew the defence before passing on to flanker Serge Lilo, who easily registered the five-points.

Up 14-7 in the latter stages of the opening half, the Hurricanes were continually forced to defend against a rampant Chiefs outfit before flyhalf Stephen Donald reduced the margin to three in the 29th minute with a penalty goal from right in front.

Then, with less than four minutes remaining in the first half, speedy Chiefs forward Liam Messam put the hosts in front for the first time with a solid try after running from the back of the scrum.

But just as the hosts looked to have wrestled control of the match, Ma'a Nonu picked up a loss ball and sprinted 50 metres to dive over for a try in the corner and give his side a 19-15 lead heading into the sheds.

Following the interval, it was the Chiefs who drew first blood when Donald slotted over a moderately difficult penalty goal after the visitors were pinged for being offside in the 47th minute.

With the Hurricanes' lead reduced to a solitary point, skipper Tana Umaga then registered the season's first bonus-point try and gave his side some breathing room moments later after dodging a tackle before scoring wide of the posts.

However, in the 54th minute and with the chance to put the match almost beyond the Chiefs, Umaga on the back of a scintillating run from Hosea Gear botched the simplest of tries when he dropped the ball while attempting to ground it over the line.

Making the visitors pay for the fundamental error, Kinikinilau capped off a composed passage of attacking play for the Chiefs with a try in the corner to reduce the Hurricanes' lead to one.

A penalty goal from Gopperth in the 62nd minute then restored a four-point buffer for the visitors but the Chiefs again managed to claw back into the lead five minutes later after a powerful rolling maul allowed hooker Tom Willis to dot down.

But again, just as things were looking good for the hosts, Gopperth kicked another much-needed penalty goal to level the score with less than eight minutes remaining in the match.

This proved to be all the leverage the Hurricanes needed and late in the match and on the back of some fierce attacking play, Tito crossed the chalk to put the result beyond doubt.

Hurricanes 39
Tries: Alby Mathewson, Serge Lilo, Ma'a Nonu, Tana Umaga, Paul Tito
Conversions: Jimmy Gopperth 4
Penalties: Gopperth 2

Chiefs 32
Tries: Brendon Leonard, Liam Messam, Roy Kinikinilau, Tom Willis
Conversions: Stephen Donald 3
Penalties Donald 2

HT: 19-15 Hurricanes