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Canterbury rookie Isaiah Punivai intercepted a pass and ran 60 meters to break Wellington’s hearts for the first gold points match in Miter 10 Cup history.
And boy did the Reds and Blacks need their 31-26 bonus point win in Christchurch on Saturday night, after back-to-back losses by one point over the past fortnight.
Punivai’s try in the 85th minute to win the match was a redemption move, as he dropped the gold kick to give the visitors an early chance to hit.
However, center Jackson Garden-Bachop, the man who threw the interception, couldn’t make it worth it as he threw a drop goal from the front to the right.
Kai Schwoerer / Getty Images
Canterbury hero Isaiah Punivai was all smiles after his decisive play against Wellington in Christchurch on Saturday.
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“I guess it was all or nothing. I had to make some arrangements, the guys gave me full confidence and said to throw it away, ”said Punivai moments after his clutch play.
Canterbury trailed Wellington 26-18 after hooker Tyrone Thompson, a week after uncorking a devastating escape attempt, shrugged off three defenders with brute force with 17 minutes to go.
Kai Schwoerer / Getty Images
Canterbury runner Mitchell Drummond passes Wellington in Christchurch on Saturdya.
But Canterbury, desperate to avoid a second 1-3 start in as many years, held their ground after losing prop Oli Jager and forward Tom Sanders to injuries.
Pivot Fergus Burke hit on a penalty, before Tom Christie, after breaking passes from Billy Harmon and Isaiah Punivai, landed late.
Burke had a chance to win in regulation time, only to fuel his tricky conversion attempt to the right.
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Wellington’s Billy Proctor tries to evade Canterbury pivot Fergus Burke.
Led by an outstanding performance from 54-proof All Black Julian Savea, who is clearly looking forward to a Super Rugby gig next year, Wellington made the hosts pay for Luke Romano’s yellow card.
The visitors scored attempts on either side of the halftime break to turn an 18-7 deficit into a 19-18 lead early in the second half.
Romano was sent packing by referee Paul Williams for illegally stopping a starting line in the closing minutes of the first half.
Canterbury was aggrieved after Wellington midfielder Peter Umaga-Jensen scored a long-distance try in the 43rd minute as they felt the ball had been lost moments earlier.
But replays showed that only they were to blame for not blowing the whistle, as wing Manasa Mataele had cleared the ball in the inning.
Kai Schwoerer / Getty Images
Canterbury fullback Josh McKay tackles Wellington wing Julian Savea.
After falling on the opening holes against Taranaki and Hawke’s Bay the past two weeks, Canterbury started better this time.
They led 11-0 after 25 minutes, thanks to a pair of Burke penalty goals and a Mitchell Drummond try.
Drummond topped off a break started by Mataele to score wide in his second blazer game (game 62 for Canterbury).
Wellington midfielder Vince Aso put the visitors on the board in a shadow of over half an hour, and it was a play that should have left Canterbury coach Reuben Thorne furious.
This is because the attacking scrum that caused Aso to launch was the result of a clumsy knock-on from Canterbury, after Garden-Bachop launched a penalty attempt at the right post.
However, the hosts regained their 11-point cushion a few minutes later, when center Ngane Punivai burst in from close range, after a driving maul was stopped shortly before the line.
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Canterbury captain Reed Prinsep faces Wellington No. 8 Teariki Ben-Nicholas in Christchurch on Saturday night.
If Thorne wasn’t fuming before, he must have been after what followed.
Having done well all night through Burke, Canterbury inexplicably got into his shells and tried to work the last 90 seconds of the half.
They almost made it but, as is often the case when teams try to buy time, a player went wild in a ruck and Williams pinged them.
After Romano received a yellow card, lock Naitoa Ah Kuoi threw the ball on the chalk almost three minutes after the horn to reduce the halftime deficit to 18-12.
Canterbury 31 (Mitchell Drummond, Ngane Punivai, Tom Christie, Isaiah Punivai tries; Fergus Burke 3 pen, with) Wellington 26 (Vince Aso, Naitoa Ah Kuoi, Peter Umaga-Jensen, Tyrone Thompson tries; Jackson Garden-Bachop 2 with). HT: 18-12
MVP Points: Reed Prinsep 3, Julian Savea 2, Fergus Burke 1
