Hurricanes edge Highlanders in hard-fought encounter

(Reuters) - The Wellington Hurricanes edged their New Zealand rivals the Otago Highlanders 23-19 in a hard-fought Super Rugby match in Dunedin on Friday.

The lead changed six times and neither side was ahead by more than six points at Forsyth Barr Stadium as the Hurricanes outscored their last-placed opponents by three tries to one.

Conrad Smith, Ben Franks and TJ Perenara touched down for the Hurricanes while Beauden Barrett kicked their other eight points. Hosea Gear claimed the home side's only try and Colin Slade struck 14 with the boot.

"Maybe five more minutes and the Highlanders could have pushed themselves back in front," Smith said. "We let ourselves down with the execution but we were a lot more direct and that's what got us the points in the end."

It was a deserved second win of the season for the Hurricanes, who contributed much of the game's running rugby, even in the face of an improved performance by Otago following defeats to the Waikato Chiefs and the Cheetahs.

The Hurricanes recycled the ball quickly, especially in the first half, and scored the opening try after eight minutes following 13 phases of possession.

Brad Shields initially got across the line but was driven back before he could touch down by some fierce home defending.

The reprieve was short-lived, however, as the Hurricanes recycled the ball and popped it up to Smith, who took a half step back toward the passer and drove through a gap to score.

The conversion was missed and Slade then briefly put the home side ahead with two penalties before the half-hour mark.

HALFTIME LEAD

Falling behind appeared to sting the Hurricanes into action and Victor Vito burst through a gap at pace after 32 minutes and passed to Franks on the wing.

The prop let fullback Ben Smith bounce off him and touched down in the left corner with Barrett adding the extras for a 12-6 lead.

Undeterred, the home side struck back as Gear spotted a gap in the line and went over for a try that Slade converted to give the Highlanders a slender 13-12 halftime lead.

Slade struck again just after the break before Perenara picked up from behind a pile of bodies on five metres, leapt over one prone opponent and twisted and turned through four tacklers before reaching out to ground the ball comfortably over the line to put his team 17-16 in front.

Jason Emery almost marked his first start for the Highlanders with a try but was forced into touch at the flag as he drove for the line.

Brad Thorn also came close to a remarkable try, beating two defenders before being hauled down just short before Slade made it 19-17 with another penalty.

The Hurricanes were back ahead by a point in the 66th minute when Barrett knocked over his first penalty of the match after John Hardie failed to release his man in the tackle.

The fly-half kicked his second five minutes later to complete the scoring and seal the victory.

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Kings win historic first Super Rugby encounter

PORT ELIZABETH (Reuters) - South Africa's Southern Kings made a stunning Super Rugby debut with a 22-10 victory over Australia's Western Force at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.

Winger Sergeal Petersen, still a schoolboy two months ago, scored a brace of tries while the boot of flyhalf Demitri Catrakilis added four penalties.

The Port Elizabeth-based side have replaced the Lions in this year's Super Rugby competition but were expected to struggle with an inexperienced squad under New Zealand-born coach Matt Sexton.

However, what they lacked in star quality they made up for with a high work-rate and structured defence.

"We knew it was our crucial to get a win today to get the public behind us," Kings centre Andries Strauss said. "We must keep our feet on the ground, it is only our first step into this competition.

"There is still big pressure on us but I hope we can take the momentum from this win further into the competition."

Petersen scored his side's first points in the competition when he showed great anticipation to run in a try. Force winger Alfie Mafi dithered over collecting a charged-down grubber and Petersen nipped the ball from his grasp and ran in unopposed.

The score was against the run of play and the Perth-based side began to flex their muscles. They took the ball through the phases from a scrum in the Kings' 22 and Pek Cowan scored with a pick-and-go from the base of the ruck.

Six minutes later, the Australians were in again and once more it came from patient buildup play. Mafi completed the try in the corner as they spread the ball wide.

All three tries went unconverted and the Force led 10-5 at the break.

The home side had suffered a blow in the first half when captain Luke Watson was forced off just past the half-hour mark with a throat injury and did not return.

But, if they were second best in the first half, the Kings put in a gutsy display after halftime to score 14 unanswered points.

"We spoke at halftime about keeping the ball better and putting pressure on the Force and we did that," Strauss said.

Catrakilis added two penalties to give his side the lead, before Hugh McMeniman received a yellow card for a high tackle on Ronnie Cooke.

With the Force a man down, the lead was extended when Petersen scored his second try on the hour mark. Kings scrumhalf Shaun Venter coughed up the ball over the goalline, but the home side won it back following a Force knock-on and spread the ball wide.

Petersen kept Will Tupou at bay with an excellent hand-off before darting in at the corner.

"It is an incredible start to my Super Rugby career. It gives me great passion and heart to know that I am coming from this region. We are such a unit, playing in this team is a dream," Petersen said.

The Force were penalised at the scrum twice in quick succession, with Catrakilis slotting both kicks to take the score to 22-10 and out of sight of their visitors.

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