Super 14: Hurricanes earn courageous win

CANBERRA -The undermanned Hurricanes revived their slender Super 14 rugby play-off hopes with a gutsy 23-13 defeat of the Brumbies in Canberra tonight.

A 71st minute try to flanker Victor Vito sealed the Hurricanes first victory since round three against the Lions - and extended their winning sequence to four matches over the two-time Super rugby champions.

Vito picked up a loose ball on and strolled from the 22-metre line under the posts as the Brumbies appealed in vain for a knock on after Tamati Ellison lost the ball when tackled.

The Hurricanes' triumph - despite spending half the opening period a man down - provisionally improves them from ninth to seventh on the table with 22 points.

In contrast the end of the Brumbies' eight-match winning streak at Canberra Stadium leaves them in a holding pattern in sixth.

The home side held a slender 5-3 advantage at the end of a fractured first half dominated by the whistle of South African referee Jonathan Kaplan - ultimately an unsatisfactory lead given their glut of possession and the Hurricanes' ill discipline.

In the only encouraging sign for the Hurricanes, they at least managed to limit the damage inflicted by losing two players to the sinbin inside the opening 30 minutes.

Kaplan, who had not issued a yellow card in the competition leading into the 10th round encounter, quickly lost patience with the Hurricanes' sequence of early infringements.

Third choice openside flanker Nick Croswell, deputising for expectant father Scott Waldrom and an ill Karl Lowe, was the first to incur Kaplan's wrath when he was sinbinned for an indiscretion at the breakdown.

The Hurricanes muscled up admirably when the pack was shorthanded, though the Brumbies, blessed with 77 per cent of possession and a territorial advantage, were guilty of squandering those gains with poor handling, a crabbing backline and errant kicking from Matt Giteau.

Halfback Tyson Keats was the second Hurricanes player to irritate Kaplan when he saw yellow in the 28th minute for another breakdown penalty.

Finally the Brumbies were able to profit from their numerical advantage when Keat's opposite Patrick Phibbs dived over as his scrum zeroed in on a pushover try in the 33rd minute.

Giteau's off night with the boot extended to his place kicking as he pushed the conversion wide while Aaron Cruden's three-pointer before the hooter provided a timely boost for an undermanned team confined to defensive duties.

Buoyed by still being in the contest at the turn, the Hurricanes took the lead via Cruden's boot and extended their lead in the 50th minute when Conrad Smith polished off a rare example of incisive back play after Hosea Gear broke the line before Ma'a Nonu fed Cory Jane, whose clever flick pass to Tamati Ellison enabled the wing to link with the All Black centre, who was unstoppable from close range.

Cruden added the angled conversion to give the Hurricanes a 13-5 buffer before Giteau atoned for a patchy return to the playmaking role when he dived over in Nonu's after the Hurricanes soaked up 11 phases.

Kaplan eventually tired of the Brumbies' tactics at the breakdown in the 65th minute when reserve hooker Huia Edmonds was sinbinned, enabling Cruden to push the Hurricanes out to 16-10 before Giteau finally raised the flags with his fourth attempt.

Meanwhile, Vito faces an anxious wait to see whether he will face censure after his stiff arm tackle concussed Mark Chisholm as the lock ploughed to the try line in the 16th minute.

The Wallaby appeared to be out before he hit the ground after he ducked towards the line. Kaplan and his assistants took to action but Vito's hit may be yet be examined by the match reviewer.

- NZPA