Canterbury withstood a late charge from Wellington to get their title defence underway with 27-20 win today at Christchurch Stadium.
In an error-riddled clash, Wellington scored the first try through Thomas Umaga-Jensen after Canterbury’s Brett Cameron gave the home side an early lead with a penalty.
Canterbury hit back through Braydon Ennor before Reed Prinsep scored under the posts to make it 15-7 with under 30 minutes gone.
As they have done so often, Canterbury made the opposition pay in the shadows of halftime with halfback Mitchell Drummond scoring after a brilliant lineout.
Drummond’s try made it 22-7 at the break.
The Cantabrians’ lead was reduced to 27-15 with less than 20 minutes to go when fullback George Bridges counter-attacked from inside his half and broke through before setting winger Caleb Makene.
The assist would be particularly satisfying for Bridge, who was mentioned as a potential All Black after an outstanding Super Rugby season, because he stood up Wellington’s Asafo Aumua.
Aumua had burnt Bridge on his way to a stunning long-range try during a clash between the two sides last year.
The Lions wouldn’t go away though, with flanker Du'Plessis Kirifi scoring an unconverted try to make 27-20 but they couldn’t find the late try to potentially level up the scores.
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