Wellington crushes Canterbury by 37-28 after a nail biting contest at Westpac Stadium - Rugby News
Wellington clinched an important victory over the Canterbury side in their fourth match of the ongoing ITM Cup 2011 by 37-28 at Westpac Stadium on July 27. The Wellington side started off the match in poor fashion and their opponents took a healthy lead
of 14-3 just after 20 minutes of play. Lima Sopoaga rose to the occasion and helped his side with 17 individual points in the match. He kicked four conversions and three penalty shots to help his squad gain an impressive victory over Canterbury.
Canterbury had given a real tough time to the Wellington team as they led the match by 14-3 but after that things went sour for them. They had a dramatic move in the match as their seasoned player, Robbie Fruean, scored the first try of the match after just
23 seconds in the field. They were in good position to cash in on their second victory in the event but failed to maintain their first-half momentum. Robbie Fruean, Tom Taylor and two others scored one try each for their side which went in vain.
Wellington displayed an excellent piece of team work during the second-half and stunned the Canterbury side in every play of the game. They managed to score 34 consecutive points in the match and ousted their opponents to win their first match at Westpac
Stadium in the last three years.
Victor Vito, who was left out by the All Blacks’ selectors for the Tri-Nations Cup 2011, played a great supporting role in his team’s victory. He produced a number of opportunities to score and his team-mates responded to most of his calls. He also elevated
is team with a well deserved try along with Michael Hobbs, Scott Fuglistalle and Frae Wilson.
The Canterbury players tried to react to the motivated Lions but the rock solid defence of Wellington denied them scoring in the later part of the match. Canterbury will face Manawatu in their next match whereas Wellington will take on the Bay of Plenty
respectively on July 30 and 31st.
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