• Auckland came back from 24-10 down to secure a well-earned victory
• Captain TJ Faiane provided two moments of magic to bring Auckland back into the match

Auckland left it late in the capital, but in the end, secured a hard-fought victory to jump back to the top of the table and get back to winning ways in the Mitre 10 Cup.

Wellington shot out to an early lead as Auckland failed to clear their line properly from the kick-off and the home side took full advantage with blindside Galu Taufale crashing over from close-range.

Jackson Garden-Bachop was then able to extend their lead with a penalty courtesy of an Auckland high-tackle.

The blue and white hoops then managed to get their hands on the ball and the first time-out testing the Wellington defence they managed to breach it, with Tumua Manu slicing through and cantering to the line.

Despite constant pressure early on, Auckland nearly went into the break with the lead. Salesi Rayasi was held-up after a spectacular 85 metre break-out and the resulting scrum saw a penalty to the visitors right out in front. This was turned down as they pressed for the maximum seven points with Akira Ioane denied only by desperate Wellington defence.

The home side started the second half just as they did the first. Wellington dominated possession early and Thomas Umaga-Jensen made Auckland pay with a try of his own within the opening ten minutes.

Harry Plummer was able to narrow the gap for the visitors for a short-while with a well-struck penalty, but Wellington were soon on attack once again with Ben Lam proving to be too strong for Jacob Umaga to bring down one-on-one ten metres from the line.

If Auckland were going to reel Wellington in, they were going to need something special and it was captain TJ Faiane who provided a moment of magic with a slaloming solo run cutting open the defence to run through near untouched to score.

The blue and whites it seemed had finally found some momentum. Wellington received a yellow card and Auckland exploited the extra man with Salesi Rayasi adding to his impressive season try tally.

With ten minutes to play, Auckland completed the comeback through ‘Captain Fantastic’ TJ Faiane who sparked a length of the field try from inside the visitors 22-metre and managed to find Jordan Trainor in support to complete the breakout after stepping past the covering Wellington defence to cruise to the line.

Stout defence for the final ten minutes saw Auckland hold-on and reclaim their place at the top of the ladder in the Mitre 10 Cup.

Auckland 29 (T Manu, T Faiane, S Rayasi, J Trainor tries; H Plummer 3 conversions; H Plummer penalty)

Wellington 24 (G Taufale, T Umaga-Jensen, B Lam tries; J Garden-Bachop 3 conversions; J Garden-Bachop penalty)

(Halftime: 7 – 10)