The Hurricanes Poua have rained on Matatū’s first official match in Christchurch with a dramatic 25-24 victory to cap the second round of Super Rugby Aupiki action.
Played under cloudy windy skies at the Nga Wai Puna facility in the Garden City, the match was cut and thrust, but it looked as though the home team was in control early, leading 19-8 at halftime.
But the rain came in the second half in the form of Poua debutante wing Autumn-Rain Stephens-Daly, who bagged a double that hauled her side back into the contest and indeed, into an unlikely lead.
Matatū stormed back and drew to 24-25 when MVP Renee Holmes scored a cracking try off a Grace Brooker counterattack. Holmes had already scored a first-half try, combining effectively with flanker Lucy Jenkins on the blind. Furthermore, she had often run into the teeth of the defence and taken some heavy punishment, so her 70th-minute score was some effort.
The key moment came at 77 minutes when Matatū turned down a very kickable three points from a penalty. They opted to kick for a lineout instead, hoping to break down the Poua defence. But the visitors hung tough, holding hooker Natalie Delamere up over the line.
Minutes later, the Poua had won a famous victory, seven days after the Chiefs Manawa had put 50 on them.
Earlier, Matatū flanker Kendra Reynolds had opened the scoring, breaking through off a broken-up lineout drive. Her Black Ferns teammate, wing Ayesha Leti-I’iga, hit back for the Poua, fishing a fine team effort.
While the Poua were often loose and passes were often not slick, their forwards, led admirably by the likes of lock Joanah Ngan-Woo, who scored a try off a Krystal Murray break, and hooker Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate, hooked into their work and made sure the home team felt them in the rucks and collisions.
Stephens-Daly showed her footwork for her first try, while Murray’s tip-on gave her a leg up for her second. It was all part of a gutsy team effort by the Poua, while Matatū will be regretting missed chances.
Next weekend, Matatū travel to Hamilton to face the Chiefs Manawa in what could decide top qualifier into the semifinals, while the Poua host the Blues in Wellington.
Hurricanes Poua 25 (Autumn-Rain Stephens-Daly 2, Joanah Ngan-Woo, Ayesha Leti-I’iga tries; Carys Dallinger con, Isabella Waterman pen) Matatū 24 (Renee Holmes 2, Kendra Reynolds, Grace Brooker tries; Holmes 2 con) HT: 19-8 Matatū
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