Auckland beats Wellington in Super 14 thriller

BRISBANE (Reuters) - The Auckland Blues kept their faint Super 14 semi-final hopes alive with a pulsating 19-17 win over the Wellington Hurricanes in Auckland on Friday.

Trailing 16-17 at the half, the Blues scored the only points of the second period when fullback Nick Evans kicked his fourth penalty to give his side what turned out to be a match-winning lead.

Wellington threw everything at the Blues over the last 10 minutes but could not break down their stubborn defence.

The Hurricanes remain in second place after the result while Auckland move up to third but both could miss out on a semi-final spot when the final round is completed in South Africa on Saturday.

Auckland put the first points on the board with an Evans penalty, but Hurricanes winger Hosea Gear grabbed two tries in two minutes to put the visitors firmly in charge.

His first was a brilliant darting run through the middle of the Auckland pack, somehow getting through seven or eight players without being touched, and the second came when he charged down an Evans clearing kick and regathered.

Wellington scrumhalf Pire Weepu converted both tries and added a penalty to make it 17-3, before the Blues staged their comeback.

Lock Anthony Boric crashed over after some sustained pressure and then Evans kicked two more penalties to close the gap to 17-16 at the break.

Auckland opened the second half in commanding fashion and were unlucky not to go ahead when they crossed the line three times in the first 10 minutes, only to be held up once and denied by the video referee on two occasions.