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Wellington winger Julian Savea dives in to score the game-winning try against North Harbor.
Former All Blacks winger Julian Savea scored the winning try as Wellington fended off an initial 13-point deficit to beat North Harbor 25-20 at Sky Stadium on Saturday.
Chasing their first win in three weeks, the Lions suffered a major blow on the eve of kickoff when Peter Umaga-Jensen was flown to Auckland to rejoin the All Blacks as front for center Rieko Ioane.
But the man who replaced him in the starting XV, rookie fullback Ruben Love, came up with the decisive play to deliver the four much-needed competition points for last year’s finalists when he stabbed a deft kick for Savea in the 65th minute.
Sky sport
Julian Savea dives into North Harbor’s error to score the match-winning try for Wellington.
Savea pounced on the loose ball when Tomas Aoake, who had given the visitors the lead in the second half, was unable to rebound in the slippery conditions, before running over Bryn Gatland to score.
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Kieran Keane’s men pressed hard for a late draw, but replacement running back Connor Collins produced a crucial loss at the try line to repel North Harbor’s attack.
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The first five Bryn Gatland produced an influential performance for North Harbor.
A first-half masterclass of Gatland’s first five had given North Harbor a surprise 13-0 lead, but Wellington rebounded through attempts by Billy Proctor and Jackson Garden-Bachop to set up an exciting second half. .
Proctor was originally named to start at fullback, but replaced Umaga-Jensen in center, with Love making his first start in the number 15 jersey.
Gatland crashed to score the first down in the 18th minute before setting up the team’s second when he sent a precise cross kick for Jared Page to jump into the right corner.
Desperately needing a win to stay in the semi-final, Wellington’s response was swift.
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Wellington center Billy Proctor bursts into North Harbor’s defense.
They went from one extreme to the other after Savea put together a booming kick, which Garden-Bachop threw from within his own 22, and unloaded leaders James O’Reilly and Alex Fidow.
Fidow fell agonizingly close to the line, but North Harbor couldn’t deny Proctor, who stepped in to score after seeing a gap when Wellington passed the ball through his back.
Despite North Harbor’s initial dominance, Garden-Bachop brought the Lions closer to one point when he scored Wellington’s second on a five-meter scrum at halftime.
Saturday’s result saw Wellington overtake Canterbury for fourth place in the Premiership standings.
Take a look
Wellington 25 (Billy Proctor, Jackson Garden-Bachop, Julian Savea tries, Garden-Bachop 2 scam, 2 pens) North port 20 (Bryn Gatland, Jared Page, Tomas Aoake tries, Gatland scam, pen)
HT: 12-13
MVP: Bryn Gatland 3, Jackson Garden-Bachop 2, Connor Collins 1
