Hawke's Bay draw with Wellington in ITM Cup

Wellington led Wednesday's clash between the top two in the Championship Division 15-7 at the end of a first half that saw wing Jason Woodward score 10 points and Hawke's Bay's Chris Eaton - who had earlier scored the opening try - sin-binned.

But the visitors launched an excellent comeback in a dramatic second half, flanker Brendon O'Connor crossing for their second try to cut the gap to a point.

Vaea Fifita's 52nd-minute try restored Wellington's breathing room before Woodward was shown a yellow card.

Hawke's Bay could not capitalise on their 10-minute numerical advantage, but West sent over a penalty 15 minutes from time and wing Robbie Fruean scored a 77th-minute try out wide to level the scores.

However, West's sideline conversion was off-target, meaning Hawke's Bay stay three points clear over Wellington with two games to go before the finals, which could see the pair meet again to decide who will be promoted to the Premiership Division.