Cam Roigard scores a try during the Hurricanes v Highlanders, Super Rugby Pacific match, Sky Stadium, Wellington. Photo: Marty Melville/Actionpress
A Cam Roigard try after the hooter had sounded has stolen a 24-20 win for the Hurricanes at Sky Stadium in Wellington. It capped off an inspired night for the All Black halfback, who was easily the home side's best player on the park in an otherwise scrappy game.
The Highlanders will be ruing a costly lineout error that handed the ball back to the Hurricanes just before the end, with the home side sending a series of forward runners at the line before Roigard spotted a gap to dive over next to the posts.
It was his second try of the game, after an earlier snipe that saw him run 20 metres to draw the scores level after halftime.
The first half was an incredibly frustrating one for crowd that had shown up on a very pleasant Wellington evening, with the Hurricanes unable to do much with the wealth of ball they had. On the flipside, the Highlanders created two opportunities and converted both, Jonah Lowe the beneficiary of some good hands and soft defence.
Bailyn Sullivan answered back for the Hurricanes with a nicely constructed try, but they should have had about three more with all the ball they had. Instead, they had to watch Lowe slide in for his second and the Highlanders take a 14-7 halftime lead.
The second half was more of the same and while Roigard got things going nicely, the Hurricanes were never able to put the foot down. It wasn't until the well after the hour mark that the Highlanders even really had a turn with the ball, Taine Robinson banging over a couple of penalties that should've won them the game.
Instead, they had to stand under their posts for a second time this season wondering just what went wrong against the Hurricanes. Back in round nine they were the ones who couldn't score despite a wealth of possession, this time with the roles reversed they cracked at the absolute worst time.
The result sees the Hurricanes move up to fifth for now and will play a big part in them potentially making the play-offs. Meanwhile the Highlanders are now sweating on the Fijian Drua's results as they look to avoid coming last.
Read how the game unfolded with RNZ's live blog:
