Super Rugby: Wins for Highlanders, Stormers, Lions and Force
Monday 7 March 2016 11:36, UK
Replacement fly-half Hayden Parker kicked a penalty with five minutes left to give the Highlanders a 17-16 win over the Hurricanes as last year's Super Rugby finalists squared off in Dunedin.
The Highlanders threw away a 14-6 advantage in the second half on Saturday but eventually bagged their first win of the 2016 season.
They led 11-6 at the interval, centre Malaki Fekitoa having scored a try, and fly-half Lima Sopoaga kicked a penalty just after the break to extend the lead to eight points.
But the Hurricanes, who are based in Wellington, then scored 10 unanswered points as captain T.J. Perenara scored a converted try and Beauden Barrett kicked a penalty.
And the Highlanders looked set for a frustrating night as they had two tries disallowed with just over 10 minutes to play, one for a forward pass and the other for grounding the ball short of the line.
However, Parker then kicked the winning points and relieved captain Ben Smith said: "It was a match that could have gone either way.
"Both teams put a lot of pressure on each other and that's probably why there was a bit of dropped ball. We didn't get too frustrated and just kept playing right to the end."
The Hurricanes are winless after two games but improved markedly on their big defeat against the ACT Brumbies in the first round.
Lions fly-half Elton Jantjies kicked 16 points and orchestrated a thrilling attacking performance as the Johannesburg-based team claimed an entertaining 36-32 victory at the Chiefs to stay unbeaten after two rounds.
The Lions overcame an arduous travel schedule, having beaten Japan's Sunwolves in Tokyo last weekend, to post their first-ever win in Hamilton, in a match in which the lead changed hands five times.
Jantjies was instrumental in two of the Lions' four tries and he also kicked two conversions and four penalties.
The Chiefs also scored four tries, rallying from 24-11 down just after halftime to take a 25-24 lead after 54 minutes.
But tries for captain Warren Whitely and winger Ruan Combrink restored the Lions' advantage at 36-25 and they held on to win despite a late Chiefs' try.
Jono Lance and Luke Morahan returned to haunt their old team as the Force inflicted a second successive defeat on the Reds.
Fly-half Lance kicked five penalty goals from as many attempts in Brisbane and laid on the kick for winger Morahan to score the only try as the Force overcame the Reds 22-6.
Japan international Ayumu Goromaru, starting at full-back for the first time in Super Rugby, kicked the Reds' only points with two penalties, but missed two other attempts at vital stages in a scrappy encounter.
Lance linked up with the Perth-based side this season via the Waratahs and was the difference as the Force nullified any Reds attack with stout defence and kept their opponents pinned inside their own half with tactical kicking.
The Force led 9-3 at half-time and Lance continued to pile the pressure on the Reds with two more penalties as Goromaru was astray with one attempt and struck an upright with another shot.
The only try of a forgettable encounter came in the final minute when Lance cleverly angled a grubber kick towards the right-hand corner for Morahan to score.
Springboks Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit dominated the line-outs to set up a 20-10 Super Rugby triumph for the Stormers over the Cheetahs.
Despite opposing 2015 South African Rugby Player of the Year Lood de Jager, the Stormers duo stole numerous Cheetahs throws at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.
De Jager, who starred for the Boks at the 2015 World Cup, was sin-binned on 48 minutes for a high tackle and Stormers took advantage of the numerical superiority to score a crucial second try.
The teams were level at 7-7 going into the break during a typical South African derby saturated with physicality and strong defending.
Stormers regained the lead on 55 minutes when sustained ball-in-hand pressure brought the visitors steadily closer to the try-line before loose forward Sikhumbuzo Notshe barged over. Kurt Coleman, an early second-half substitute for injured fly-half Robert du Preez, converted from in front of the posts to give Stormers a 14-7 advantage.
Rival playmaker Fred Zeilinga trimmed the deficit to four points via a penalty before Coleman slotted two of his own to earn Stormers a second successive success at the start of the season.
Fly-half Joe Pietersen scored 14 points as the Sharks clinched a hard-fought 19-15 win over the Jaguares in Durban.
Pietersen, deputising for injured Sharks skipper Pat Lambie, put in a fine all-round performance with ball in hand and from the boot as he landed four penalties and converted a try from flank Marcell Coetzee.
The Jaguares looked to run at every opportunity but lacked possession and territory. They scored first-half tries through wing Emiliano Boffelli and full-back Santiago Cordero, while fly-half Nicolas Sanchez kicked a conversion and a penalty.
