Hurricanes overcome Highlanders with 17-11 win

Hurricanes 17-11 Highlanders, Sky Stadium
Scorecard

Hurricanes maintained their form as they resisted Highlanders 17-11 in their Super Rugby Aotearoa face-off at Sky Stadium on Sunday.

This is Hurricanes' second consecutive win in the tournament as they occupy the third place in the table with eight points while Highlanders are at fourth place with six points.

Highlanders thought they scored the first try when Aaron Smith crossed over in the fourth minute but was disallowed after replays showed Ash Dixon obstructed Du’Plessis Kirifi, who was tackling Mitch Hunt in the build up.

Few minutes later, it was Hurricanes' turn as Ngani Laumape dotted down but was disallowed by TMO as replays showed Devan Flanders was obstructing Shannon Frizell, as he was looking to defend.

As both the teams looked desperate for the first points, the deadlock eventually broke in the 28th minute when TJ Perenara touched down and Jordie Barrett followed with the conversion and in the 36th minute Jacobus Van Wyk followed the suit as they finished the first half with a 12-0 lead.

The Hurricanes further extended their momentum into the second half with Flanders scoring in the 48th minute before making it 17-0 before Hunt's penalty in the 51st minute helped the visitors get off the mark.

The combination of Dixon and Smith ensured Highlanders remained alive in the game as the hooker offloaded to the latter for his first try in the 58th minute but Hunt's conversion went wide making the scoreline 17-8.

Hurricanes managed to hold on to their defence as Highlanders managed a solitary penalty in the closing stage in the remainder of the game that reduced their losing margin to six points.