THE OTAGO HIGHLANDERS stormed home to beat the Wellington Hurricanes 38-21 as Super Rugby Aotearoa, a competition launched with much fanfare when New Zealand believed it had eliminated Covid-19, closed early with the return of the virus.
The scheduled final match, a showdown on Sunday between the champion Canterbury Crusaders and their arch-rivals the second-placed Auckland Blues, was cancelled because of the outbreak.
The Crusaders, who reached an unassailable lead in the competition last week when they beat the Highlanders, had put celebrations on hold to avoid any distraction before closing against the Blues.
But the return of Covid-19 in Auckland put New Zealand’s largest city in lockdown, ruling out live sport, while lighter restrictions elsewhere in the country allowed the Otago Highlanders to play the Wellington Hurricanes behind closed doors on Saturday.
But unlike the first seven rounds of the competition, played in packed stadiums, there were no spectators to applaud the Highlanders.
“It was bizarre really. I’ve never played a game like this before. It was absolutely silent,” Highlanders captain Ash Dixon said as his side produced a 24-point burst in the second half to cement their third win.
“It was kind of 50-50 [at half-time]. We just had to tighten up our D a bit and hold on to the ball for longer phases. So we decided to hold the ball and things started to happen.”
In the roofed Dunedin stadium, the Highlanders outscored the Hurricanes five tries to three in a fast-paced spectacle but remain fourth on the table.
For the Hurricanes, who had three tries scrubbed out because of their own errors, it brought an end to a five-match winning streak and they missed a chance to overtake the Blues and finish runners up.
The first half saw tit-for-tat tries with Hurricanes wing Vince Aso the first to touch down after a 70 metre counterattack.
The Highlanders replied immediately when Ngatungane Punivai, on as an injury replacement, scored with his first touch of the ball.
When scrum-half Jamie Booth scored the Hurricanes’ second from another counter-attack, the Highlanders’ instant response was a try to Dixon — playing his 100th Super game — who scored from a lineout drive.
With the score locked at 14-14 at half-time, a Josh Ioane penalty soon after the resumption put the Highlanders in front for the first time.
Tries to Michael Collins and Mitch Hunt, as well as a penalty try which saw Ardie Savea yellow-carded, the Highlanders had put on 24 unanswered points in the second half before Peter Umaga-Jensen scored the Hurricanes’ third try.
Final points in the competition saw the Crusaders win with 30, following by the Blues (24), Hurricanes (21), Highlanders (14) and the Waikato Chiefs (5).
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