Smith try thwarts Hurricanes

Cowan: His chip set-up Ben Smith's try

Full-back Ben Smith scored the only try in the Otago Highlanders' 13-6 Super 15 victory over the Wellington Hurricanes on Friday.

Smith, who has been in fine form this season, put in another strong performance in awkward conditions and is now a virtual shoo-in for a place in New Zealand's World Cup squad.

The 24-year-old, who played two Tests in 2009, touched down in the 36th minute to put his side in front after they had trailed 3-0 after Aaron Cruden's second-minute penalty.

Smith pounced when scrum-half Jimmy Cowan spotted there were no Hurricanes defenders behind a ruck and chipped into space near the line.

Lima Sopoaga added the conversion and then struck a penalty on the stroke of half-time to take the his side into the break with a 10-3 lead at Invercargill.

Slippery conditions

Cruden closed the gap to four points with a penalty in the ninth minute of the second half but Sopoaga responded in kind as the Hurricanes struggled to master the wet and slippery conditions.

The win saw the Highlanders end a three-game losing streak and further add to the misery of Wellington's worst ever season.

The defeat was the Warriors eighth in 12 games and left them sitting in 11th place at the start of the tournament's 13th round.

"It wasn't pretty but the conditions were pretty tough," Highlanders captain Jamie Mackintosh.

"At times it was a pretty physical battle and like I said it may not have been pretty to watch but it was good fun to play ...it was bit of an old fashioned battle.

Heartache

"We were struggling to build pressure with our goalkicking but we were lucky to score a try and then Lima stepped up and banged one just before halftime which put us (seven) ahead which was quite a nice wee buffer.

"But a lot of mistakes when we got down their end in the second half, and if we'd got another three it would have saved us a bit of heartache in the end."

Hurricanes captain Andrew Hore said: "We were our own worst enemies, too many mistakes and probably let the other team into it.

"It's pretty frustrating, we're close but it doesn't get any more fans to come and watch you if you don't win."