'Tah very much

Hurricanes winger Lome Fa'atau scores during last night's semifinal against the Waratahs. Ross Land / Getty Images

Hurricanes 16 Waratahs 14

The Hurricanes buried 10 years of torment to reach their first Super rugby final as they outlasted the Waratahs in a dramatic duel which went down to the final minutes last night at Westpac Stadium.

Three times the Hurricanes have been to the semifinals and been denied but last night a massive late penalty goal from replacement five-eighths and kicker Jimmy Gopperth clinched the victory.

They reproduced their victory from last week in Sydney, holding out in the last minute as they ran down the clock like the group of seasoned professionals they have become.

This match had all the tension a semifinal deserved. The Hurricanes looked to be gaining a gradual ascendancy but after 60 minutes they had been unable to build on their 13-8 halftime advantage and had just seen the reliable David Holwell heading for the bench after coming off second-best in a collision with David Lyons.

The Hurricanes had most of the attacking ball which was starting to blunt some of the Waratahs' resilience. But the Blue Wall which had been so strong for much of the series, held firm.

Both coaches emptied their reserve benches in search of one piece of magic to seal or steal the match. Tempers began to melt and the Waratahs suggested they had been victims of an eye-gouging.

Two penalties came for the Waratahs and unlike last week, Peter Hewat was ordered to shoot for the posts. His radar was unerring even from the sideline and the Waratahs were a point ahead going into the last 10 minutes.

Enter Gopperth for his response under huge pressure. From a scrum penalty on halfway, the Hurricanes third kicker in this game bisected the posts.

Both sides made a twitchy start to the game with the Waratahs failing to claim the kickoff and Tana Umaga dropping the ball twice in the opening stanza. Ma'a Nonu made an early break before he gave the ball away and Waratahs captain Chris Whitaker was penalised for disputing one of referee Jonathan Kaplan's calls.

After weathering a possession deficit in the opening stages, the Waratahs attacked with Lote Tuqiri and Mat Rogers used extensively as first receivers. As restricted as they had been on attack last week, the Waratahs were adventurous with Tuqiri the danger man. His bust towards the line set up the ruck which gave Hewat an easy run in for the first try of the match.

The Waratahs were having their strongest spell of the half with some strong driving play from their pack while Daniel Vickerman cut off several lineout throws from Andrew Hore and Phil Waugh pinched another to relieve a 5m defensive lineout.

When the action got down to scrums though, the weakness which has plagued the Waratahs and the Wallabies re-emerged. They were splintered on their own feed in the 30th minute and from the subsequent Hurricanes scrum, a neat in-pass from Umaga to Lome Fa'atau put the trailing wing over. It was a huge psychological moment and started a shift in momentum.

Holwell rolled several grubbers dangerously close to the Waratahs line and the second needed the video referee to separate Shannon Paku from a legitimate try.

The Hurricanes attacked the Waratahs defence on their right flank where Hewat and Rogers suggested more fragility than the balanced Tuqiri on the other side of the field.

Hurricanes 16 ( L. Fa'atau try: P. Weepu pen, Holwell pen, con, J. Gopperth pen).
Waratahs 14 (P. Hewat, try; Hewat 2 pen).
HT: 13-8.