Prop Tyrel Lomax has scored a brace of tries - and almost a third - matched by centre Bailyn Sullivan, as the Hurricanes rallied to a 30-17 victory over the Reds in their Super Rugby Pacific clash round at Melbourne.
As the New Zealand sides try to build on their recent dominance of their Aussie counterparts in recent seasons, the Wellingtonians appeared in deep trouble against their rivals, ranked four places above them on the competition ladder before this contest.
Referee Angus Gardner rocked the Hurricanes with yellow cards to Sullivan for a tipping tackle on opposite Hunter Paisami and prop Pouri Rakete-Stones for shoulder contract to Paisami's head. After 30 minutes, the Reds were 17-0 ahead and the Hurricanes looked absolutely at their mercy.
But momentum begain to swing back their way, when Sullivan returned to the field and snaffled up a loose pass, deflected backwards by teammate Julian Savea, to sprint 60 metres for the Hurricanes' opening try.
With halftime approaching, captain Ardie Savea was taken in a high tackle that earned Reds flanker Connor Vest a yellow card and the NZ side took full advantage. Lomax grabbed tries on either side of the break and Jordie Barrett slotted a penalty, as the Hurricanes scored 15 points in Vest's absence, sweeping into the lead.
Another try to Sullivan - their best of the night - and another Barrett penalty capped 30 unanswered points, as an Australian side suffered second-half capitulation for a second consecutive night at the trans-Tasman 'Super Round'.
Sullivan's second try came from a period of sustained attack, which culminated in Jackson Garden-Bachop stabbing a kick behind the tryline and his centre chasing to score.
Guilty of early scrum jitters, Lomax more than compensated with his scoring outburst and almost had a hat-trick, when he pounced on a loose ball over the Reds line, but replays showed he had deflected the ball forward, while attempting a tackle.
"Being 17-0 down and coming back like that, I'm proud of the boys," said Ardie Savea. "We got a few calls that didn't go our way, but for the lads to stick in there and bring a performance like that is pretty cool.
"Mentally, I think we just drifted away, with the calls not going our way and complaining to the refs, but the message was to just to do our job, control what we could control and nail the next task. We did that and got benefits from it."
The Hurricanes take on top-ranked Australian side Brumbies next Sunday.
Hurricanes 30 (Sullivan 2 & Lomax 2 tries, Barrett 2 conversions & 2 penalties) Reds 17 (Stewart & McReight tries, Creighton penalty & 2 conversions)
Join us at 4pm Sunday for live update of the Highlanders v Brumbies Super Rugby Pacific clash
