12 Sep 2010

Hawke's Bay draw with Waikato in dramatic finish

5:53 pm on 12 September 2010

The Hawke's Bay rugby team has drawn 27-all with Waikato in Napier, after kicking a dramatic last-minute penalty goal.

Waikato lead 12-6 at half-time, and extended their lead with another try just minutes into the second half.

But that seemed to shock Hawke's Bay into action, and after the home side brought it back to 19-14 with a try and a penalty, the two sides continued to swap points for the rest of the half.

With the score locked at 24-all, Waikato looked to have sealed the victory with a penalty in the 73rd minute.

But despite Hawke's Bay being stuck well in their own half with the clock ticking down, the team managed to work the ball back to halfway and Waikato conceded a penalty 2 minutes into referee's time.

The Hawke's Bay winger, Richard Buckman, was left with the honour of making the last play of the match, and his kick from 50 metres out was spot-on, levelling the scores and giving his side two much-needed competition points.