West home town hero as Hurricanes sneak in
WELLINGTON: Ihaia West did his best impression of Beauden Barrett for the Hurricanes who secured a lastgasp 3837 Super Rugby win over the Sharks in Napier last night.
In a Friday night thriller, inside centre Ngani Laumape crossed five minutes after the fulltime siren and West slotted the winning conversion from a handy spot.
It capped a flattering win for the Hurricanes, who were outplayed for long periods but capitalised on a oneman advantage in the closing stages to clinch a fifth successive victory.West was a standout at fiveeighth, after Beauden Barrett was a late scratching with a quad muscle injury.
Playing at his provincial home ground of McLean Park, West had a hand in all his team’s tries and tallied 18 points with the boot.
He threw a long pass to put Laumape across for his second try in the decisive play, taking advantage of the absence of replacement Sharks hooker Franco Marais, who had been shown a yellow card minutes earlier.
That was the Hurricanes’ only try of the second half, as West slotted four penalties to cut the Sharks’ lead of 2719 at halftime.
The impressive South African side appeared to have done enough when forward Tyler Paul crashed over with seven minutes remaining.
Robert du Preez’s conversion, giving him 17 points for the night, put the Sharks nine clear.
It was another standout showing from the Sharks, who arrived in New Zealand with one win from five matches but thumped the Blues 6340 last week in Auckland.
Last night, they were routinely able to prise open what had been the competition’s best defence with an attacking game, based on offloads and rousing support play.
Centre Lukhanyo Am scored twice before the break, along with halfback Louis Schreuder.
Jordie Barrett and Laumape crossed early, courtesy of West’s passes, while Vince Aso’s longrange try came from the No 10’s audacious crosskick 10m out from his own line.
The Hurricanes lost halfback TJ Perenara at halftime to a knee injury.
Tests will determine his availability and that of longtime halves partner Barrett for a run of three games in Wellington, starting next week against the Chiefs. — AAP