Wellington up to second in Super 14 with win over Force

BRISBANE (Reuters) - The Wellington Hurricanes ground out a 21-10 win over Perth-based Western Force on Friday to climb to second in the Super 14 rugby table.

The Hurricanes dominated possession in miserable conditions in Wellington but a stubborn Force defence held them to two tries.

The win was enough to put them above the NSW Waratahs and almost certainly assure them of a semi-final berth, while at the same time ending the Force's slim finals hopes.

Captain Rodney So'oialo said he had not been thinking about a bonus point until late in the game, especially with the conditions. Teams earn a bonus point by scoring four tries.

"Our main focus was just to come away with the win," he said.

"Obviously when we got a lot of points ahead of the Force we tried to get the bonus point, but unfortunately we couldn't get it."

The Hurricanes were on top from the start and went ahead early with a Piri Weepu penalty.

They took full advantage of their territorial superiority when hooker Andrew Hore crashed over near the posts for a 10-0 lead after just 12 minutes.

After missing two relatively straightforward penalties, Force fly-half Matt Giteau finally got his side on the scoreboard after the Hurricanes backs were caught offside, but that was to be the visitors' only joy of the half.