All Black skipper's injury overshadows Canes win
SUPER RUGBY AOTEAROA MATCH REPORT: The Hurricanes kept alive their title hopes with a bonus-point win over the Chiefs in Wellington on Saturday.
They outscored the willing and energetic Chiefs by five tries to two for a hard-earned 31-18 win.
However, All Black coach Ian Foster will be concerned about the neck/head injury that saw his national team captain Sam Cane departed the field in the 26th minute.
While he walked off on his own steam, fears of a repeat of his neck injury in 2018 will be of major concern.
* Did you miss any of the action? To recap all the drama, CLICK HERE!
In a tense second half, the Chiefs, desperate for their first win in the competition, had closed the gap to 18-24 before replacement Proctor came on the field and almost immediately scored the Hurricanes fifth try.
Without the bonus point the Hurricanes would have been out of contention.
But with the maximum five points they moved to one behind the second-placed Blues and three behind the front-running Canterbury Crusaders.
The Crusaders will claim the title if they beat the Highlanders on Sunday, while an upset win to the Highlanders would see the competition settled in the final round when the Crusaders play the Blues and the Hurricanes face the Highlanders.
"We knew we had to come into this game and get five points from it and now our fate lies with the Blues and the Highlanders," Hurricanes captain Thomas Perenara said, adding a plea for the Highlanders to beat the Crusaders.
"Yea, 100 percent. If the Highlanders get the job done against the Crusaders that helps both us and the Blues. I think most of Wellington and Auckland will be supporting them."
The Hurricanes led 12-3 at half-time on the back of two Peter Umaga-Jensen tries and looked comfortably in control.
But the Chiefs lifted their game in the second half with an early try to Sean Wainui.
Tries to Dane Coles and Kobus van Wyk saw the Hurricanes pull away to 24-13 before the Chiefs came back with a try to Mitch Karpik.
But the Chiefs hopes of a maiden win were dashed by Proctor's try and they end the post COVID-19 competition in last place with eight straight losses although in five matches they picked up a bonus point from losing by seven points or less.
Coach Warren Gatland said he was "disappointed" but praised his side for the effort in what he described as weekly clashes of Test-match intensity.
"Men of less character would have thrown the towel in but these guys haven't done that. They've kept fighting in every game," he said.
Man of the match: You can look at the usual suspects for the Hurricanes - Du'Plessis Kirifi, Reed Prinsep, Scott Scrafton, James Blackwell and Dane Coles - among the forwards. Jordie Barrett was as influential as always. However, our award goes to a two-try hero - powerful Hurricanes centre Peter Umaga-Jensen.
The scorers
For the Hurricanes:
Tries: Umaga-Jensen 2, Coles, Van Wyk, Proctor
Cons: Barrett 3
For the Chiefs:
Tries: Wainui, Karpik
Con: McKenzie
Pens: McKenzie 2
Yellow card: Kobus van Wyk (Hurricanes, 38 - foul play, tip tackle)
Teams
Hurricanes: 15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Peter Umaga-Jensen, 12 Vince Aso, 11 Wes Goosen, 10 Jackson Garden-Bachop, 9 Thomas Perenara (co-captain), 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Du’Plessis Kirifi, 6 Reed Prinsep, 5 Scott Scrafton, 4 James Blackwell, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Dane Coles (co-captain), 1 Ben May.
Replacements: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Tevita Mafileo, 18 Pouri Rakete-Stones, 19 Kane Le’aupepe, 20 Devan Flanders, 21 Jamie Booth, 22 Billy Proctor, 23 Jonah Lowe.
Chiefs: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Shaun Stevenson, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Sean Wainui, 10 Kaleb Trask, 9 Brad Weber, 8 Pita Gus Sowakula, 7 Sam Cane (captain), 6 Luke Jacobson, 5 Mitchell Brown, 4 Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 1 Ollie Norris.
Replacements: 16 Bradley Slater, 17 Rob Cobb, 18 Angus Ta’avao, 19 Tupou Vaa’i, 20 Mitchell Karpik, 21 Lisati Milo-Harris, 22 Quinn Tupaea, 23 Kini Naholo.
Referee: James Doleman
Assistant referees: Ben O’Keeffe, Brendon Pickerill
TMO: Mike Fraser