All Black Vaea Fifita missed the match with a knee injury but the Wellington Lions beat Canterbury 23-22 in thriller at Sky Stadium tonight to keep the winless Cantabs at the bottom of the Mitre 10 Cup ladder.
A knee injury was the cause of Fifita’s late withdrawal from the match, which he was named to start at blindside flanker.
Although no further details were given as the severity of the injury it
There were only two tries scored in the first half, but they were both worth the wait.
Canterbury fullback Josh McKay showing some great support play to latch on to a brilliant offload from Luke Whitelock before streaking away to score under the posts.
Wellington responded just before halftime with a pass every bit as good, Vince Aso on the end from an outstanding flick pass from Pepesana Patafilo.
The Lions would jump out of the blocks after trailing 10-8 at the break, scoring through Du'Plessis Kirifi and prop Alex Fidow, who was the beneficiary of another offload, this time from halfback Kemara Hauiti-Parapara
Canterbury would stage a comeback with a little under 15 minutes to go, Mitchell Dunshea scoring in the corner before Harry Allan made it a one-point game.
The Lions would hang on though to consign Canterbury to a third straight loss to start the season.
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