McKenzie kicks injury-time penalty to clinch Chiefs' win over 'Canes

Pita Sowakula scored a try and Damian McKenzie kicked a last minute penalty as the Chiefs edged the Hurricanes 26-24 in a thriller last night.

McKenzie nailed a penalty in injury time to hand the Waikato franchise a last-gasp win for the third-straight week.

The Hurricanes outscored the home side three tries to two in the thrilling contest but once again McKenzie's kicking proved the difference with the playmaker collecting four penalties along with two conversions for 16 points on the night.

The Hurricanes were also the first ones on the board thanks to an early score from lock James Blackwell, but a long-range penalty from McKenzie and a try to Sowakula saw the Chiefs take a 10-7 lead.

Jordie Barrett then showed his kicking skills though, slotting a monster 58m penalty on half-time to leave everything to play for in the second 40-minute block.

The deadlock was broken quickly after the break though with McKenzie slotting another penalty before Bryn Gatland crossed the line, giving the Chiefs a 20-10 lead.

The Hurricanes stormed back soon after though through Billy Proctor and despite another penalty from McKenzie to try and hold on to the lead, Asafo Aumua powered over from the back of a lineout drive to put the Hurricanes up by one.

The Hurricanes looked to have held on with the hooter going but sure enough, the Chiefs scrambled at scrum time and forced one last penalty from 45 metres out.

The result extends the Chiefs' winning streak to five games and puts them in second place, five points clear of the Blues ahead of their crucial clash with the first-place Crusaders at 3.35pm tomorrow.

[Source: TVNZ]