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Wellington winger Losi Filipo scored a hat-trick for the competition leaders, including two intercept tries.
At Stadium Waikato, Hamilton: Wellington 41 (Losi Filipo 3, Ruben Love, Hugo Plummer, Xavier Numia tries; Aidan Morgan 4 con, 1 pen) Waikato 24 (Tepaea Cook-Savage, Xavier Roe, Daniel Sinkinson, James Tucker tries; Cook-Savage 2 con) HT: 27-17.
Yellow card: Tepaea Cook-Savage
Two Losi Filipo intercepts have helped stretch Wellington’s unbeaten run to seven in this year’s National Provincial Championship with a 41-24 win over Waikato on Friday night.
The big Wellington winger plucked one intercept in each half to stifle the impetus of Waikato at critical times.
For the first 60 minutes, Waikato pushed the table-toppers hard but in a familiar script this season, Wellington eventually ground their opposition down to pull away late.
A first half try from set piece gave Filipo a hat-trick in a high-scoring contest that saw the NPC leaders run in six tries to four.
Filipo’s second intercept try stretched Wellington’s lead back to 10 when Waikato were threatening to cause the upset. They lost further momentum when fullback Tepaea Cook-Savage, attempting an intercept of his own, was sent to the bin for a deliberate knockdown with a quarter of the game to play.
Waikato did limit the damage with no points conceded in Cook-Savage’s absence but hardly got out of their own half in the final 20 minutes.
AARON WOOD/STUFF
All Blacks team to play their first pool game against France at Stade de France, Paris on Saturday.
Following a sustained period in Waikato’s red zone, replacement prop Xavier Numia finally broke the home side when he crashed over to score in the final five minutes.
Exciting Wellington and Hurricanes midfield prospect Riley Higgins put in a strong shift before he was subbed off in the second half and first-five Aidan Morgan kicked his team around the paddock with calmness and control.
Fullback Ruben Love was lively early and finished off a breathtaking try started by Billy Proctor and Morgan but didn’t have the same impact when he returned from an HIA assessment early in the second half.
Waikato halfback Xavier Roe was strong behind a beaten pack and scored a well-deserved try that came a few phases after a cleaver quick tap put his side on the front foot.
Wellington will now have a welcome eight-day turnaround following Friday night’s physical contest before they play for an eighth consecutive victory against Bay Of Plenty in Rotorua on Sunday week.
Waikato, still stuck on just two wins for the season, will be desperate to tip up neighbours Auckland next Saturday in an attempt to remain in semi-finals contention.
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