Blues claim draw with Reds in Super Rugby with late Ihaia West kick
By Andy Charles
Last Updated: 21/03/16 9:47am
Ihaia West kicked a penalty after the siren to give the Blues a 25-25 draw with the Reds in a Super Rugby thriller in Brisbane.
West's kick kept the Reds without a win after four rounds this season, with the visitors opting to go for the draw at the end of a tense encounter rather than gamble on going for what would have been a match-winning try.
Auckland had rallied from 10 points down with seven minutes left on the clock, West's late goal coming after a converted try from Billy Guyton that set up an exciting finale at Suncorp Stadium.
The Blues led 15-13 at half-time with West scoring one of Auckland's two tries, the other going to Bryn Hall while Chris Feauai-Sautia scored for the hosts, who were under the management of interim coaches Nick Stiles and Matt O'Connor after the recent sacking of Richard Graham.
But Auckland's lack of discipline - they conceded 14 penalties - ensured the Reds were able to pile on the pressure and it told on 55 minutes when Eto Nabuli broke through their defence and found Samu Kerevi for the score.
Five minutes later the Reds took a 25-15 lead when Nick Frisby set up Jake McIntyre for their third try - McIntyre also booted 10 points thanks to a pair of conversions and two penalties.
Guyton just made it over the line with four minutes remaining and West hit the conversion to cut the Blues deficit to three points, but they were reduced to 14 men soon after when Sione Mafileo was sent to the sin-bin.
However, a Reds penalty handed them the ball back and, after an incredible 21 phases of play, the penalty was given for not rolling away at a maul and West made no mistake to ensure a draw at the end of a strongly-contested game.
