Rugby: Canterbury reward big crowd with fine win

Sonny Bill Williams of Canterbury celebrates with teammates Robbie Fruean and Andy Ellis after scoring a try during the ITM Cup match against Wellington at AMI Stadium in Christchurch today. Photo / Getty Images

A big crowd got to watch on for free as Canterbury secured the result they wanted with a 37-30 national provincial championship rugby win over Wellington in Christchurch today.

AMI Stadium was close to its 38,000 capacity after the Canterbury Rugby Union threw open the gates as a goodwill gesture to the public three weeks after the southern city was rocked by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake.

With warm sunshine and a firm field greeting the players, all the ingredients were there for a classic Canterbury performance as the two-time defending champions looked to rebound from a surprise loss to Taranaki last weekend.

By the end everything had gone to script but only after Canterbury twice came from behind to secure a bonus point win and protect their top-four status through nine rounds of the competition.

It wasn't vintage Canterbury but the crowd cared little as they overcame a feisty Wellington, who enjoyed the better of the contest in the middle stages before the hosts lifted noticeably in the last quarter.

Two tries to stand-in captain Hosea Gear helped Wellington to a 20-13 halftime lead after the quality wing pulled off a 60m intercept before scoring from much closer range eight minutes before the break.

Canterbury drew level 7min after the restart when halfback Andy Ellis capped off a sweeping move featuring a strong surge from long striding fullback Sean Maitland, who was dangerous every time he got the ball in his hands.

Wellington responded just 3min later when they edged in front again after No 8 Faifili Levave detached from a scrum near the line and used a combination of speed and strength to get over the white chalk.

Canterbury then lifted their intensity and were rewarded with two tries in the space of 4min, the first to Maitland, who was presented with a gift five-pointer after lock Luke Romano set off on an outstanding, angled 40m run before a clever flick pass gave the fullback the room he needed to complete the deal.

The crowd again found its voice moments later when star off-season recruit, Sonny Bill Williams, held the ball held in one hand as he stepped inside Wellington first five-eighth Lima Sopoaga before his power and size carried him over the tryline.

Canterbury suddenly found themselves 34-25 up and seemingly safe only for halfback Alby Mathewson to show his abilities as a pick pocket to keep Wellington in the hunt 9min from fulltime.

With the Canterbury scrum under pressure, No 8 Nasi Manu bent down to pick the ball up only for Mathewson to steal it from his grasp and flop over the line.

It seemed entirely appropriate that Canterbury had the final say when first five-eighth Colin Slade completed a tidy performance with his third penalty to lift his personal haul to 17 points.

- NZPA